It was a wild one in Buffalo tonight.
The Blue Jackets fought hard for 60 minutes plus overtime and were able to get a point tonight.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLUE JACKETS | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| SABRES | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
Both teams looked sluggish for the vast majority of the first period, but the Blue Jackets would go ahead in the final minute as a tic-tac-toe passing play ended with Nathan Gerbe scoring the opening goal on a nice feed from Vladislav Gavrikov.
Gavrikov with some scary good vision and a goal that won't get much easier for Nathan Gerbe. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/MSBBxCSNsa
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) February 14, 2020
The Blue Jackets started the second period the way they finished the first. Boone Jenner scored on a redirection of Zach Werenski's bomb from the point to give Columbus a 2-0 lead. Liam Foudy notched the secondary assist for his first NHL point.
LIAM FOUDY FIRST NHL POINT, PEOPLE. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/1egOZa0tPf
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) February 14, 2020
Just before the second period ended, the Sabres got a goal back on a Jack Eichel snipe. It was Eichel's 32nd goal of the campaign.
The Sabres carried their momentum into the third period and were able to tie the game up with a power-play goal from Victor Olofsson after Nick Foligno took a tripping penalty.
Then, with just under five minutes remaining, Gavkrikov made a bad read, stepped up on a puck that he wasn't going to win, and gave the Sabres an odd-man rush. Evan Rodrigues made no mistake, burying the puck.
The Blue Jackets never hung their heads though. With just over one minute remaining, and Matiss Kivlenieks pulled, Markus Nutivaara scored to tie the game once again and send it to overtime.
In overtime, Jack Eichel found Olofsson with a nice pass, who buried the game-winning goal.
Injury Update
F Josh Anderson is close to returning. D Ryan Murray is also skating.
Next Up
The Blue Jackets will return to Nationwide Arena to take on the New York Rangers tomorrow night. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 p.m.
Game Notes
- The Blue Jackets have collected points in 20-straight outings against the Eastern Conference (14–0–6). The streak is tied for the fourth-longest intra-conference point streak in a single season since 1974-75.
- RW Oliver Bjorkstrand has tallied 11-4-15 with five multi-point efforts in his last 13 games and ranks third in the NHL in goals per game since Dec. 16 (0.85).
- C Boone Jenner has 2-1-3 in his last four contests and has won 50% or more of his faceoffs in 28 of his last 33 games.
