A .500 road trip.
Alex Tuch had two goals and an assist to continue a three-game point streak (one goal, two assists) as the Buffalo Sabres beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 for their fourth straight win on Tuesday night from KeyBank Center.
Olivier Always One To Oblige
The Blue Jackets came into the game in a wild card spot and ended the day out of a playoff spot. Meanwhile, the Buffalo Sabres, winners of a season-high four straight games, are last in the Eastern Conference but both teams came into the day with something to prove.
For Columbus, they wanted to shake the sting of Sunday's tough loss in Dallas and the Sabres wanted to come together as one unit in the wake of their biggest star Tage Thompson being on the wrong end of a cheap shot against the New Jersey Devils on Sunday. Thompson did not play Tuesday due to an upper-body injury.
The Sabres wanted to make a point of addressing their toughness and three seconds off the opening face-off, Mathieu Olivier and Dennis Gilbert dropped the gloves.
We're through one in Buffalo, with the Sabres leading it 1-0 after receiving a fortuitous bounce.
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) February 5, 2025
Buffalo's toughness has been challenged in recent days, so they started the game off by fighting Mathieu Olivier and that went about as expected. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/KI7utp64fn
8-Game Point Streak For KJ
Kent Johnson is on an eight-game point streak (four goals, five assists), matching a career-high, following his second-period goal that tied the score 1-1 at 1:47. The goal is his 16th which ties a career-high. Ivan Provorov (19) and James van Riemsdyk (14) assisted on the goal.
OH MY KENT JOHNSON!!
— NHL (@NHL) February 5, 2025
KJ hit the spin cycle pic.twitter.com/VttbtRVunA
Missing Key Players
Columbus was minus key regulars for their tilt with Buffalo including their top two leading scorers Zach Werenski and Kirill Marchenko.
Werenski missed his first game of the season with an upper-body injury after leaving Sunday's game against Dallas but returned for the third period of that game. He didn't participate in Tuesday's morning skate and is considered day-to-day.
Marchenko is out indefinitely with a broken jaw after being hit by a puck while on the bench Sunday. Dante Fabbro left Sunday's game after the first period and is out with an upper-body injury.
Facing adversity, Columbus played a decent game but the second period was the difference as the Sabres scored twice. Tuch (17) scored at 12:17 to give Buffalo the 2-1 lead. Gilbert (3) and Bowen Byram (21 picked up the assists. Then Tuch's (18) second goal at 18:56 made it 3-1. Rasmus Dahlin (34) and Jason Zucker (22) assisted. Dahlin is on a four-game point streak (zero goals, six assists). Zucker is on a three-game point streak (two goals, two assists).
Provorov's goal (5) — Damon Severson (15), Luca Del Bel Belluz (6) — in the third period at 12:38 cut the deficit to 3-2. Provorov wore the 'A' and played a game-high 28:27 as he finished with the two-point night. It's his second multi-point night of the season and he has goals in two straight.
Provorov's goal to bring the #CBJ within one, but they'll need another in the final two minutes here. It's 3-2 Buffalo. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/PI5ZWmvAAa
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) February 5, 2025
#CBJ head coach Dean Evason on the loss in Buffalo: "We still have to play like we play, and we gotta stay with how we play the game. We got out of it a little bit structurally, and it ends up in our net. But we certainly aren't gonna fault the effort."
— Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) February 5, 2025
The Hockey Club
The Blue Jackets battle the Utah Hockey Club in a rematch from Nationwide Arena on Thursday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. ET.
