Ryan Donato scores at 3:12 of OT as Chicago Blackhawks beat Buffalo Sabres 3-2 to end slump

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

CHICAGO—Ryan Donato scored 3:12 into overtime to lift the Chicago Blackhawks to a 3-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres at the United Center on Thursday, ending Chicago’s six-game slide. Donato circled in the offensive zone, moved to the slot and beat Sabres goaltender Alex Lyon with a wrist shot to decide the game.

The Blackhawks received multi-goal production from Frank Nazar, who scored twice, while Spencer Knight made 21 saves for Chicago. With the win, the Blackhawks improved their record to 5-13-1, having gone 1-8-1 in their previous 10 games. Sam Rinzel added two assists for Chicago.

Buffalo’s scoring came from Owen Power and Tage Thompson, with Jack Quinn contributing two assists. The Sabres fell to 8-7-4 and were unable to end a recent run of results, having lost their past three games going into the opener of their three-game setback.

Alex Lyon started for Buffalo after being activated from injured reserve. The Sabres goaltender sustained an upper-body injury during the preseason, and he made his season debut in Chicago. Lyon stopped 22 shots over the course of regulation and overtime.

Power gave the Sabres an early lead in the first period, scoring 9:00 into the game. Josh Norris made a backhand pass from the slot to Power, and Power finished with a one-timer over Knight’s right shoulder from the top of the right face-off circle, putting Buffalo ahead 1-0.

The Blackhawks responded on the power play at 12:22 of the first period when Nazar tied the game 1-1. Nazar received Connor Bedard’s pass from the bottom of the left circle and tapped the puck over Lyon’s left skate at the near post to even the score.

Buffalo regained the lead later in the opening frame at 15:46, again on the power play. Tage Thompson scored after Quinn fought off Chicago forward Jordan Greenway along the left-wing boards and backhanded a pass to Thompson. Thompson fired a wrist shot from the face-off dot to make it 2-1 in favour of the Sabres.

Nazar evened the game a second time in the third period, scoring his second goal at 8:22. Rinzel put the puck toward the net from the high slot, and it went in off the blade of Nazar’s stick, knotting the score 2-2 as the game moved toward overtime.

With the score tied after regulation, the contest went to extra time. Donato provided the deciding moment at 3:12 of overtime, using a wrist shot from the slot to beat Lyon and give Chicago the 3-2 win.

The result was significant for the Blackhawks not only because it produced an overtime victory, but because it brought an end to a prolonged downturn in which Chicago had won only one of its previous 10 games. For Buffalo, the loss continued a stretch in which the team had dropped each of its past three games and needed a fourth-quarter surge to create space in the standings.

After Lyon’s return to the lineup and a high-stakes overtime finish at United Center, both teams now have a clearer reference point for how their offences performed at key moments—Chicago generating equalizers through Nazar and finding the winning shot from Donato, and Buffalo scoring on power plays through Power and Thompson while Lyon kept the Sabres within reach with saves throughout.

Looking ahead, the Thursday result leaves Buffalo searching for its next corrective step after consecutive setbacks, while Chicago aims to build momentum from breaking its six-game slide with a go-ahead goal from Donato and two more goals from Nazar. The game ended 3-2 for the Blackhawks.

All game details above are based on the NHL’s official game recap published November 12, 2026, including the goals, scoring times and the credited goaltending figures.