Sabres Survive Scare, Edge Blackhawks 4-3 in Opener Rematch

The Sabres scraped out a 4-3 win over Chicago at home, but this one was far tighter than Buffalo backers wanted after laying -235. DarkHorse's contrarian Blackhawks +190 ticket came up short, but the underlying thesis wasn't entirely wrong—Chicago hung around all night and made this a sweat.

Buffalo's offense did just enough to outlast a scrappy Blackhawks squad playing its third game in four nights. The back-to-back fatigue we flagged in the original reasoning showed up in stretches, but Chicago's desperation kept them within striking distance deep into the third period. Spencer Knight, the netminder we touted for his NHL pedigree, kept the Hawks competitive even if he couldn't steal two points outright.

For Buffalo, Colten Ellis and the home side survived their own shaky moments—this wasn't the dominant performance you'd expect from a team priced like a hammer. The Sabres move to 1-1, but the narrow margin validates our skepticism about that inflated line. Chicago falls to 0-3, yet showed more fight than their record suggests.

The pick missed, but barely. At plus-money, we needed the Blackhawks to finish, and they didn't. Tough break, but the value was real. On to the next card.