Chicago Blackhawks vs. Buffalo Sabres Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 4/29/2022

Time: 7 p.m. ET

Venue: KeyBank Center, Buffalo, NY

Where to watch: NBC Sports Chicago, MSG-B

DraftKings: Sabres -130, Blackhawks +105

BetMGM: Sabres -130, Blackhawks +110

Caesars: Sabres -130, Blackhawks +110

Blackhawks: 28-42-11

Sabres: 31-39-11

Mercifully, the Chicago Blackhawks can finally put this season to bed and focus on what’s going to be a rather unsettling offseason filled with questions and potential moves that may shift the needle into rebuild mode for this franchise.

The Blackhawks entered this season with high hopes, trading for Marc-Andre Fleury, trading for and signing Seth Jones to a mega deal. The Blackhawks thought they added the necessary pieces that would revitalize one more potential run for Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews.

That went way south way quick, and now the Blackhawks have no idea which way to go. But alas, they are closing the season on the road and will not have an easy game in front of them against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday at KeyBank Center.

Chicago did do the hockey world a partial favor with a 4-3 shootout victory over the Vegas Golden Knights to eliminate them from playoff contention. After a seven-round shootout, which we can discuss from Vegas’ standpoint for another day, the Blackhawks took it to Vegas and was able to win behind two goals from Taylor Raddysh.

That even overcame Kevin Lankinen’s rough go despite making 37 saves. The goals he allowed were horrendous and there’s no way he can be the starter next year. But the Blackhawks sent the home crowd home for the summer with something to look forward to.

"Well, we got the fans out of their seats," Chicago coach Derek King said. "We gave them some entertainment. I'd like to hear what they're saying when they're walking to their cars. It was a good entertainment night. It was a good game for us. I know the other coaches. I know [Golden Knights coach] Pete [DeBoer] and [assistant coach Steve Spott]. I feel for them, but our job is to win a hockey game, so I'm glad we did."

Considering the Blackhawks needed a win just for any righteous feeling, getting it against Vegas – the team that traded them Fleury for nothing in the offseason – was a perfect sendoff for the team that completely wet the bed in the final week of the regular season. If Chicago has nothing left to give this season, it at least did that for everyone.

Speaking of the Golden Knights, the Sabres are closing the season out strong. With four wins in their last five, despite the 5-0 loss to the Boston Bruins on Thursday night, there’s plenty to like about the direction of the Buffalo franchise, which says a lot considering where things have gone the past few years.

Dustin Tokarski made 27 saves aas the only brightspot for the Sabres, and that really doesn’t say much considering the Bruins still put five goals on them.

​​"I think it was honestly a pretty even game, like we had opportunities, lots of shots, and they just found a way to put it in the back of the net. We didn't," Sabres center Dylan Cozens said. "There's areas to improve in every way, and definitely things we could have done better in that game. It's a frustrating one to lose."

Okay, maybe things still aren’t sane in Sabres land if a 5-0 game is pretty even. One step at a time, however, and that’s exactly how Buffalo can try and make it a competing effort next season with Don Granato as head coach.

"I thought we had opportunities to score in the first, and didn't," Granato said. "I thought we played real well in the first, and then we didn't look like ourselves in the second and third at all. I don't know if it was an energy thing or what it was, but the game slipped away at that point."

That’s a coach who knows what he’s talking about.

With the Sabres coming home, I wouldn’t be shocked if they put on a hell of a performance for the fans. They deserve it for all the hell they endured the past two seasons and I firmly believe this group will send them home with something to smile for. Sabres win 5-2

Blackhawks are 12-19 in non-conference games this season.

Blackhawks are 7-15 this season after playing two straight home games.

Sabres are 14-17 in non-conference games this season.

Blackhawks:

Alex DeBrincat -- Dylan Strome -- Patrick Kane

Dominik Kubalik -- Jonathan Toews -- Tyler Johnson

Philipp Kurashev -- Sam Lafferty -- Taylor Raddysh

Henrik Borgstrom -- Reese Johnson -- Boris Katchouk

Alex Vlasic -- Seth Jones

Jake McCabe -- Alec Regula

Riley Stillman - Caleb Jones

Kevin Lankinen

Sabres:

Jeff Skinner -- Tage Thompson -- Victor Olofsson

Peyton Krebs -- Casey Mittelstadt -- Alex Tuch

Rasmus Asplund -- Dylan Cozens -- John Hayden

Anders Bjork -- Zemgus Girgensons -- Vinnie Hinostroza

Mattias Samuelsson -- Rasmus Dahlin

Owen Power -- Henri Jokiharju

Jacob Bryson -- Casey Fitzgerald

Craig Anderson

Points: Patrick Kane -- 92

Goals: Alex DeBrincat -- 41

Assists: Patrick Kane -- 66

Goalie: Kevin Lankinen -- 8-15-6, 3.50 GAA, .891 SV%

Points: Tage Thompson -- 67

Goals: Tage Thompson -- 37

Assists: Rasmus Dahlin -- 40

Goalie: Craig Anderson -- 17-12-2, 3.15 GAA, .897 SV%