The Buffalo Sabres finally turned the car out of the skid ... the biggest bust on the team this season and one of the handful of the biggest busts in the NHL. He was supposed to have a breakout season, to establish himself as an upper echelon goal scorer.

The Sabres knew the Blackhawks had an early morning flight because of the NHL’s travel restrictions during the holiday break. That left an already beatable team more prone to start slow. Buffalo took advantage with a 12-4 advantage in scoring chances in the first period, according to Natural Stat Trick.

The Buffalo Sabres appeared as if a weight had been lifted off of their shoulders after snapping their 13-game winless skid against the NY Islanders before the NHL’s Christmas break, bolting out to a 4-0 first-period lead against the Chicago Blackhawks and winning their second straight 6-2 in front of a post-holiday sellout crowd at KeyBank Center on Friday.