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| BUFFALO SABRES |
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16–26–8 (40 points; .400%) ROSTER / SCHEDULE |
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6:00 P.M. – SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 20TH NATIONWIDE ARENA COLUMBUS, OH |
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BALLY SPORTS OHIO ESPN+ (Out of Market) |
After winning four out of five on their longest road trip of the season, the Columbus Blue Jackets return to the friendly confines of Nationwide Arena for a Sunday evening battle against the Buffalo Sabres.
It's the third and final meeting of the season between the two teams, with the Blue Jackets winning both games — a 7-4 win in November, and a 4-3 win in overtime ten days ago in the midst of the successful road trip.
Sunday's meeting between the two will be the only of the season at Nationwide Arena, and the Sabres will aim for their first win in Columbus since January of 2019.
The Blue Jackets made a few roster moves in recent days, activating forwards Justin Danforth and Emil Bemstrom and reassigned forward Trey Fix-Wolansky to the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL. Bemstrom is likely to be in the lineup in place of Fix-Wolansky.
| CBJ | SEASON STATS | BUF |
|---|---|---|
| 3.19 | GOALS FOR | 2.66 |
| 3.67 | GOALS AGAINST | 3.48 |
| 17.5% | POWER PLAY | 19.7% |
| 80.3% | PENALTY KILL | 76.5% |
| 29.7 | SHOTS FOR | 29.2 |
| 35.1 | SHOTS AGAINST | 34.6 |
| 48.1% | CF% (EVEN) | 47.0% |
| 49.2% | FACEOFF WINS | 46.2% |
| PACES & PROJECTIONS | ||
| 60.3% | MONEYPUCK'S ODDS TO WIN | 39.7% |
| 64.0% | THE 538'S ODDS TO WIN | 36.0% |
| 83.6 | 82-GAME POINT PACE | 65.6 |
RE: BUFFALO
The Sabres were in action Saturday, falling 5-3 at home to the Colorado Avalanche. It was the fourth time in the last five games that Buffalo has found the net at least three times.
Sunday's meeting in Columbus will kick off a five-game road trip for Buffalo, their longest of the season. It will also be the third game in four nights for the Sabres, so fatigue could be a factor for the 6:00p.m. start.
Jeff Skinner and Tage Thompson each have 34 points for the Sabres, tied for the team lead. Skinner has 20 goals to lead the team, with Thompson's 16 second. Other double-digit goal-scorers for Buffalo include Kyle Okposo and Dylan Cozens, the 20-year-old who was a top ten pick in the 2019 NHL Draft.
STORYLINES
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WANTED: A SOLID DEFENSIVE GAME
The Blue Jackets may be above .500 on the season, but here's a tough dose of reality: At 3.29, no team in the NHL allows more even-strength goals per 60 minutes than Columbus. Only three others teams — New Jersey, Arizona, and Montreal — are above 3.00. A solid defensive outing could do the team a world of good before an extremely tough week with Toronto, Florida, Carolina, and Pittsburgh on the schedule the rest of the month by the end of next weekend.
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EIGHT STRAIGHT
Laine had a hat trick Thursday in Columbus' win over the Chicago Blackhawks. That's eight straight games with a point, and a goal or an assist Sunday will put him in sole possession of his second-longest point streak. And what a streak it's been: The 23-year-old has ten goals and six assists in his last games, an average of two points per game. Laine ranks 11th in the NHL in goals per 60 minutes (minimum 500 minutes) at 1.82. He's also 28th overall with 3.53 points per 60 minutes. As frames of reference: Both of those numbers are slightly better than Alexander Ovechkin this season. Ovechkin is fourth in the league with 31 goals.
PROJECTED LINES*
| LW | C | RW | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | Patrik Laine | 38 | Boone Jenner | 28 | Oliver Bjorkstrand |
| 93 | Jakub Voracek | 34 | Cole Sillinger | 59 | Yegor Chinakhov |
| 14 | Gus Nyquist | 7 | Sean Kuraly | 16 | Max Domi |
| 23 | Brendan Gaunce | 96 | Jack Roslovic | 17 | Justin Danforth |
| LD | RD | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Zach Werenski | 2 | Andrew Peeke |
| 44 | Vladislav Gavrikov | 27 | Adam Boqvist |
| 5 | Gavin Bayreuther | 46 | Dean Kukan |
| Starting Goalie | Backup | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 80 | Jean-Francois Berube | — | Jet Greaves |
*SUBJECT TO CHANGE
