RECAP: Blackhawks Come Up Short in 4-3 Loss to Sabres

Donato, Bertuzzi and Moore find the back of the net as Chicago closes out season-opening road trip

By Blackhawks.com Staff

Blackhawks.com

October 04, 2026

The Blackhawks closed out their season-opening road trip Saturday night in Buffalo with a 4-3 loss to the Sabres at KeyBank Center.

Chicago held leads of 2-0 and 3-2, but Buffalo scored twice in the third period to rally for the win.

Read on for a breakdown of the key moments from the night.

🚨 Donato, Bertuzzi and Moore find the back of the net

🍎 Frondell and Vlasic each record two assists

❌ Blackhawks penalty kill goes a perfect 3-for-3

Watch game highlights between Chicago and Buffalo

FRONDELL NOTCHES TWO ASSISTS

Anton Frondell recorded two assists on Saturday night to register his first points of the season.

Frondell picked up his first helper on Tyler Bertuzzi's goal at 11:24 of the opening period, which gave Chicago a 2-0 lead. He added his second assist on Oliver Moore's go-ahead goal at 18:18 of the second period.

Frondell's two-point performance continued the offensive production he showed in his first NHL action last season. The forward led all Blackhawks rookies with 0.75 points per game in 2025-26, recording nine points (3G, 6A) in 12 regular-season games after notching an assist in his NHL debut on March 24 at the New York Islanders.

Bertuzzi finishes off a nice passing play to put the Blackhawks up 2 - 0

MOORE FINDS THE NET

Oliver Moore scored his first goal of the season late in the second period to put Chicago back in front.

With the game tied at 2-2, Moore finished a setup from Anton Frondell and Alex Vlasic at 18:18 of the second period to give the Blackhawks a 3-2 lead heading into the third.

The goal came just over a week after the Blackhawks signed Moore to a five-year contract extension, which will begin with the 2027-28 season. Moore set career highs in games played (51), goals (5), assists (14) and points (19) last season.