The Aporia · Jiri Kulich scores go-ahead goal, Sabres rally to beat the Blackhawks 4-3

Jiri Kulich scores go-ahead goal, Sabres rally to beat the Blackhawks 4-3

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Cite

APA MLA Chicago

Wawrow, J. (2026, October 4). Jiri Kulich scores go-ahead goal, Sabres rally to beat the Blackhawks 4-3. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/jiri-kulich-scores-go-ahead-goal-sabres-rally-to-beat-the-blackhawks-4-3/article_2594e63e-71d2-5fdb-83e2-528bbdbbdd8c.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Quick Summary

In Buffalo’s home opener, Jiri Kulich scored the go-ahead goal with 6:40 left to play, helping the Sabres defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 after overcoming a two-goal deficit. The game saw contributions from Rasmus Dahlin and Tage Thompson for Buffalo, while Oliver Moore and Ryan Donato led scoring for Chicago, who had been down 2-0 in the first period and again entering the third. The victory extended the Sabres' winning streak against Chicago to seven games and featured the unveiling of a new banner celebrating their division title and end to a long playoff drought.

Written by AI on 2026-10-04, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On Saturday night, Jiri Kulich scored the game-winning goal with 6:40 left to secure a 4-3 victory for the Buffalo Sabres over the Chicago Blackhawks at KeyBank Center. This was Kulich’s first goal in nearly a year after missing the final 70 games of last season due to blood clot issues, which he had surgery for at the Mayo Clinic in March. The Sabres rallied from a two-goal deficit and are now unbeaten in their past nine meetings with Chicago (10-0-1), having won seven straight. Kulich's return was celebrated by his teammates as he overcame serious health concerns to contribute on the ice again, marking a significant moment for both him and the Sabres' season opener.

Written for “Sabres Beat Blackhawks” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

Sabres' Jiri Kulich celebrates return from blood clot issues by scoring game-winner against Chicago Same event

Toronto Star

Hedges 0 of 22 claims Outlet record 64/100

NHL roundup: Owen Power lifts Sabres past Wild 3-2 in overtime after 2-goal comeback Different event

Toronto Star

Hedges 0 of 60 claims Outlet record 64/100

“The articles describe different games involving the Buffalo Sabres on consecutive nights, not the same incident.”

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

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Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

0 of 16 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

64/100

Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Sports

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-10-04 · how these are computed

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Publisher

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Who wrote this

John Wawrow

20 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction

🔮 With Buffalo (5-1) entering its bye week, Gardiner-Johnson’s suspension will begin on Oct. 26 and run through Nov. 2, a day after the Bills host the Baltimore Ravens.

2026-10-19 · assertive framing · NFL suspends Bills safety Gardner-Johnson for 1 game for spitting at Raiders

🔮 It’s unclear if he will be healthy enough to start or even serve as Schmid’s backup in Florida’s game at Columbus on Tuesday night.

2026-10-12 · assertive framing · Sabres list Dahlin as day to day; Panthers goalie Markstrom pulled after feeling something tighten

🔮 We all feel like we could play better,” he said.

2026-10-05 · assertive framing · Buffalo Bills' Josh Allen-led offense takes a sloppy step back in loss after season-opening surge

🔮 Drake Maye threw three touchdown passes, including Efton Chism’s one-handed catch with 1:50 remaining, and the New England Patriots defeated the Buffalo Bills 29-26 on Sunday.

2026-10-04 · assertive framing · Maye overcomes his two turnovers with 3 TD passes in Patriots' 29-26 win over Bills

🔮 Though saying he still has a lot to prove, Kulich continued validating the offseason work he put in to get back in shape after having surgery to remove the blood clot at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota in March.

2026-10-04 · assertive framing · Sabres' Jiri Kulich celebrates return from blood clot issues by scoring game-winner against Chicago

🔮 The Sabres will do so with a young roster that got even younger following a summer in which top-line forward Alex Tuch was traded to Washington and defenseman Bowen Byram to Chicago.

2026-09-29 · assertive framing · Dahlin eager to build on last season after Atlantic-winning Sabres snapped 14-year playoff drought

🔮 And Buffalo was one of the NFL’s six remaining unbeaten teams through Sunday, with Philadelphia (2-0) set to play Monday night.

2026-09-28 · assertive framing · Bills rookie coach Joe Brady draws positives from overcoming 5 turnovers to beat Chargers

🔮 The absence of Connor Hellebuyck in Winnipeg and the uncertainty surrounding Detroit’s Dylan Larkin are among the biggest storylines going into the NHL season, which begins Tuesday when the Carolina Hurricanes raise their Stanley Cup banner before playing the Florida Panthers in a clash of the preseason favorites to win the championship. With a record 1,344 regular-season games coming up before the playoffs and the Final in June, AP hockey writers John Wawrow and Stephen Whyno give their predictions on how everything will unfold:

2026-09-25 · assertive framing · What to know about the NHL season, with awards, playoffs and Stanley Cup picks

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2026-09-25 · assertive framing · Kori Cheverie promoted to head coach of Team Canada for women's world hockey championship

🔮 To hear Joe Brady express his concerns, it would be easy to think the Buffalo Bills opened the season winless instead of 2-0.

2026-09-25 · assertive framing · Bills coach Brady unsatisfied with 2-0 start as Buffalo prepares to host winless Chargers

Also by John Wawrow

NFL suspends Bills safety Gardner-Johnson for 1 game for spitting at Raiders

2026-10-19 · Toronto Star

Sabres list Dahlin as day to day; Panthers goalie Markstrom pulled after feeling something tighten

2026-10-12 · Toronto Star

Noah Ostlund scores go-ahead goal in third period in Sabres' 5-3 win over Panthers

2026-10-12 · Toronto Star

Owen Power scores in OT and Sabres rally from 2 goals down to beat Wild 3-2

2026-10-07 · Toronto Star

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 20 articles by John Wawrow →

Topics

BUFFALO Blackhawks Chicago N.Y. Sabres

Subjects

BUFFALO GPE · 5× Chicago GPE · 5× Sabres ORG · 5× Blackhawks ORG · 3× Kulich PERSON · 3× Jack Quinn PERSON · 1× Jiri Kulich PERSON · 1× N.Y. GPE · 1× Rasmus Dahlin PERSON · 1× the Chicago Blackhawks ORG · 1×

Narrative

Buffalo debuted a new banner to honor the team winning its first Atlantic Division title in a season the Sabres also snapped an NHL-record 14-year playoff drought.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-04

2026-10-04 · Toronto Star

Jiri Kulich scores go-ahead goal, Sabres rally to beat the Blackhawks 4-3 · assertive framing

Claims (16 extracted, 0 hedged)

Jiri Kulich scored with 6:40 left and the Sabres overcame a two-goal deficit to beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 in Buffalo’s home-opener on Saturday night. asserted

Sabres → score → night

For Kulich, the goal was his first in nearly a calendar year, and after the 22-year-old missed the final 70 games of last season due to blood clot issues. asserted

old → miss → issues

Rasmus Dahlin tied the game 6:10 into the third period, and Jack Quinn and Tage Thompson also scored for Buffalo. asserted

Quinn → tie → Buffalo

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 12 saves. asserted

Luukkonen → make → saves

Oliver Moore, Ryan Donato and Tyler Bertuzzi scored for the Blackhawks, who dropped to 0-3 following road losses at Vegas and Utah. asserted

who → score → Vegas

Spencer Knight stopped 24 shots. asserted

Knight → stop → shots

Chicago squandered a 2-0 first-period lead and a 3-2 lead entering the third. asserted

Chicago → squander → third

Kulich’s goal came after he missed the net on a chance from in close. asserted

he → come → chance

Thompson recovered the puck behind the net and fed Owen Power in the right circle. asserted

Thompson → recover → circle

Power then set up Kulich to the left of the net, from where he beat Knight. asserted

he → set → Knight

The Sabres have won seven straight over Chicago and are 10-0-1 since a 4-1 loss on Nov. 17, 2019. asserted

Sabres → win → Nov.

Buffalo debuted a new banner to honor the team winning its first Atlantic Division title in a season the Sabres also snapped an NHL-record 14-year playoff drought. asserted

Sabres → debut → drought

The Blackhawks were without top defenseman Bowen Byram, who was dealing with a family matter. asserted

who → deal → matter

Byram spent the previous two-plus seasons in Buffalo before being acquired by Chicago in a June trade. asserted

Byram → spend → trade

Earlier in the day, Patrick Kane revealed his choice of where to sign in free agency this offseason was between his hometown Sabres or returning to Chicago. asserted

choice → reveal → Chicago

Leaving Detroit after three years, Kane signed a two-year deal with Chicago, where he spent his first 16 seasons and won three Stanley Cups. asserted

he → leave → Cups