At the Horn | Sabres 4 - Blackhawks 3

Jiri Kulich scored his first goal in nearly a year to break a tie with 6:40 remaining and send the Buffalo Sabres to a 4-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks in their home opener at KeyBank Center on Saturday.

Kulich missed nearly all of last season due to a blood clot, which he had surgically removed in March. His last goal had come at home on Oct. 24 of last season.

He reported to camp last month healthy and ready to resume his promising career. He’d nearly scored in the season opener in Columbus and again earlier on Saturday before finally burying a feed from Owen Power for the game winner.  

Kulich’s goal put a bow on a comeback performance by the Sabres, who trailed twice despite earning lopsided advantages in shots (28-15) and shot attempts (64-38).

Jack Quinn and Tage Thompson both scored goals to erase an early 2-0 deficit. Then, after Oliver Moore recaptured the lead for the Blackhawks, Rasmus Dahlin netted his first of the season to tie the game at 3-3 with 13:50 remaining.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 12 saves to earn the win.

Statistics

Scoring summary

CHI 1 – BUF 0 | Period 1, 7:59 – Ryan Donato (1) from Alex Vlasic (1) and Nick Lardis (1)

CHI 2 – BUF 0 | Period 1, 11:24 – Tyler Bertuzzi (1) from Anton Frondell (1) and Teuvo Teravainen (1)

CHI 2 – BUF 1 | Period 1, 16:24 – Jack Quinn (2) from Zach Metsa (1)

CHI 2 – BUF 2 | Period 2, 5:41 – Tage Thompson (1) from Louis Crevier (1) and Josh Norris (1)

CHI 3 – BUF 2 | Period 2, 18:18 – Oliver Moore (1) from Anton Frondell (2) and Alex Vlasic (2)

CHI 3 – BUF 3 | Period 3, 6:10 – Rasmus Dahlin (1) from Peyton Krebs (1) and Mattias Samuelsson (1)

CHI 3 – BUF 4 | Period 3, 13:20 – Jiri Kulich (1) from Owen Power (3) and Tage Thompson (1)

Photo gallery

Full highlights

Up next

The homestand continues on Tuesday against the Minnesota Wild. Tickets are available here.

Pregame coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. with puck drop set for 7.