CBJ vs. Sabres Preview
The Jackets are in Buffalo tonight for a quick one-game road trip. The Sabres are 3-6-1 in their last 10 games and have played some very good teams of late. They're similar to the Jackets in that they have a good PK, but the power play leaves something to be desired. The Sabres give up a lot of penalties, so the Jackets will have a chance to improve on their power play, which has been good enough for 6th in the league since November 22nd.
The Sabres currently sit 7th in the Atlantic, 14th in the East, and 24th in the NHL.
Three Keys
- Keep The Power Play Buzzin'. The Blue Jackets power play has actually been "hot" over the last four weeks, ranking 6th during that time frame. They've scored a power-play goal in two straight games, and are 8-for-30 over the last 13 games.
- Get A Road Win. The Jackets are 3-8-3 on the road this season but have won at Toronto, Minnesota, and New Jersey, so they can win against good teams away from home.
- Dont Let Tage Thompson Beat You By Himself. December 7th, 2022 is a day that CBJ fans and the team would like to forget. Thompson came into NWA and scored 5 goals and added an assist. They beat the Jackets 9-4 that night, but the talk was about Thompson and him single-handedly taking down the Jackets by himself.
Series History
- Columbus is 13-7-2 vs. the Sabres in Buffalo and have gone 24-14-3 all-time.
- The Jackets are 9-3-2 in their last 14 games in Buffalo. They also have a six-game points streak, going 4-0-2
- The CBJ are 6-2-2 in their 10 against Buffalo and 12-5-2 in the last 19.
Who to watch for Buffalo
- Casey Mittlestadt has 8 goals and 25 points for the Sabres.
- Jeff Skinner has 12 goals and 22 points.
- JJ Peterka has 12 goals 22 points.
- Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has a 6-7-1 record with a save % of .901.
- Goalie Devon Levi has won his last two starts, has a record of 6-4-2, and has a save % of .898
- Tage Thompson has 14 points in 8 career games vs. the CBJ.
Player Notes
- Yegor Chinakhov has a four-game goal streak heading into Buffalo. He has 10 points in his last 10 games.
- Adam Fantilli has 5 points in his last 6 games. He's currently second in rookies points with 17.
- Johnny Gaudreau has 11 points in his last 15 games. He also just hit 700 for his career and is 9 points from 100 for his CBJ career. Gaudreau has 17 points in 16 games vs. Buffalo.
- Kent Johnson has 6 points in his last 5 games.
Injuries
- Jack Roslovic has a broken ankle and is expected to miss 6 weeks. (11/13)
- Damon Severson has an oblique injury and will miss 6 weeks. (11/21)
- Adam Boqvist will miss 4 weeks due to a shoulder strain. (12/6)
- Boone Jenner has a broken jaw and will be gone for 6 weeks. (12/9)
- Patrik Laine broke his collarbone and will be out for 6 Weeks. (12/14)
TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 103
How to Watch & Listen: Tonight's game will be on Bally Sports Ohio. As always, the legendary Jeff Rimer will be on the play-by-play. The radio broadcast will be on 97.1 The Fan with Dylan Tyrer behind the mic doing the play-by-play.
Join Jason Newland's Columbus Blue Jacket page on Bunches, a new app that connects sports fans. Also, you can watch a new YouTube game show about the Blue Jackets, Around the Fifth Line.