The NHL's travel rules did the Hawks no favors Friday, but the team looked utterly unready to play in a 6-2 defeat — during which they fell behind 4-0 in the first period.

So the fact that the Sabres’ game against the Blackhawks was the first sellout since the home opener was significant. More important, though, was that the Sabres got the fans on

The Chicago Blackhawks and the Buffalo Sabres met for the second time this season, and both teams are in the bottom three of the standings, so it wasn’t meant to be a barn burner… or so people thought.