The Blue Jackets go for win number nine in a row as they host the pesky Buffalo Sabres.
Buffalo Sabres at Columbus Blue Jackets
January 25, 2014 - 7:00 pm EST
Nationwide Arena - Columbus, Ohio
Radio - WBNS 97.1 - TV - Fox Sports Ohio
Opponent's Blog: Die By The Blade
SBN's Sabres vs Blue Jackets coverage
Number nine... number nine... number nine... number nine... number nine... (Hopefully you're all Beatles fans...)
Ironically enough, throughout the Jackets' winning streak, the team that gave them the most trouble was the Buffalo Sabres, currently last in the league in points. The Jackets were on the second night of a back-to-back, but played listless hockey and allowed the Sabres to hang around, ultimately allowing them to tie the game in the final 30 seconds. Columbus held on in a shoot-out, but suffice it to say that game was the closest one during "the streak" to being a loss.
One week later, the Jackets are at home, resting comfortably after two more wins against LA and Philly. Buffalo are losers of five straight (0-3-2) and eight of 10 (2-5-3). I'm not going to belabor the point; this is a game, frankly, the Jackets should win comfortably and push their winning streak to nine games.
But, these things never seem to go the way you plan, do they?
At any rate, expect the same lineup from the past few games, with one possible exception: David Savard is ill and did not skate this morning, and Cody Goloubef has been brought up from Springfield on emergency recall if Savvy can't go tonight. No offense to Savard, but that wouldn't be the hugest blow in the world against the worst scoring team in the league. That said, hopefully Savard is doing OK.
Hope you're all enjoying the snow today, and ready for some hockey tonight! Let's make it nine!!
Projected Lineups
Columbus Blue Jackets
(26-20-4, 54 Points; 3rd division, 7th conference)
| Nick Foligno | Ryan Johansen | R.J. Umberger |
| Matt Calvert | Brandon Dubinsky | Cam Atkinson |
| Boone Jenner | Artem Anisimov | Nathan Horton |
| Derek MacKenzie | Mark Letestu | Corey Tropp |
| Fedor Tyutin | Jack Johnson |
| Ryan Murray | James Wisniewski |
| Nikita Nikitin | David Savard |
| Sergei Bobrovsky |
| Curtis McElhinney |
Buffalo Sabres
(13-29-7, 33 Points; 8th division, 16th conference)
| Matt Moulson | Tyler Ennis | Drew Stafford |
| Steve Ott | Cody Hodgson | Zemgus Girgensons |
| Marcus Foligno | Brian Flynn | Philip Varone |
| Ville Leino | Zenon Konopka | Matt Ellis |
| Henrik Tallinder | Tyler Myers |
| Christian Ehrhoff | Chad Ruhwedel |
| Jamie McBain | Mike Weber |
| Ryan Miller |
| Jhonas Enroth |
Season Series
10/10/2013 - Columbus 4 at Buffalo 1
1/18/2014 - Columbus 4 at Buffalo 3 (SO)
1/25/2014 - Buffalo at Columbus
Head to Head Stats
Buffalo Columbus 1.76 (30) GPG 2.88 (7) 2.82 (18) GAPG 2.78 (17) 14.0% (29) PP% 19.0% (15) 82.5% (13) PK% 80.3% (19) Cody Hodgson / Tyler Ennis, 11 G leader Ryan Johansen, 19 Christian Ehrhoff, 17 A leader James Wisniewski, 27 Cody Hodgson, 25 Pts leader Ryan Johansen, 37 John Scott, 70 PIM leader Brandon Dubinsky, 78 4-14-3 Road/Home 14-9-2 1/23 vs. Carolina, L 5-3 Last Game 1/23 vs. Philadelphia, W 5-2 2-5-3 Last 10 9-1-0