Buffalo heads to Columbus for second back-to-back road game.

Game # 6

Buffalo Sabres (1-3-1) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (1-2-0)

Puck Drop: 7:00 pm EDT, Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH

TV: MSG

Radio: WGR-550

Know Your Opponent

Columbus Blue Jackets

Record: 1-2-0, 2 PTS

Last Game: 4-3 loss to the Florida Panthers

Division Ranking: 8th in the Metropolitan Division

PP Ranking: 25% (14th)

PK Ranking: 70% (25th)

What to Watch

1. Stay out of the Box

The Columbus Jackets rank an NHL 14th on the power play, scoring 25% of the time with the man advantage, as of this writing. The Buffalo Sabres, by contrast, are dead last in the league, scoring 0% of the time, along with Anaheim and Carolina. When it comes to penalty kills, Buffalo is slightly better at PKs, thwarting opponents’ 5-on-4 scoring chances 72% of the time, while Columbus beats off extra attackers at a 70% rate.

Even though the Blue and Gold can kill off penalties, letting the Blue Jackets score an average of one out of four times on a power play is one too many. Buffalo needs to minimize penalties and stay out of the box, to not let the hosts get any extra scoring opportunities. A team that sits at the bottom of its division standings can still pull off an upset win and the Sabres don’t want to give the Jackets any advantage.

2. Sabres Better Recent Record

The Buffalo Sabres have an 18-24-2 record against the Columbus Blue Jackets since 2001. However, the Sabres enjoy the better recent stats, defeating the Jackets in three out of their past four meetings. Buffalo won the most recent contest, a 2-1 victory at Nationwide Arena on Feb. 23, 2024. If the visitors want to keep this mostly positive trend going, they’ll need to stay aggressive on offense and defense and keep up the pressure throughout 60 minutes.

3. Oh My Levi

Backup Sabres’ goalie Devon Levi is supposed to play between the pipes in this game, while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen rests. After UPL let in six goals against the Pittsburgh Penguins yesterday, fans hope Levi has better luck in this matchup. Levi started off 2024-25 on a good note, with one win, one loss, a .919 SV% and 2.57 GAA. Let’s also hope the Sabres’ D clears the puck more instead of letting the Blue Jackets hang around their zone, something Buffalo failed to do enough against the Penguins.

Projected Lineups

Buffalo Sabres

Forwards

JJ Peterka – Tage Thompson – Alex Tuch

Zach Benson – Dylan Cozens – Jack Quinn

Jordan Greenway – Ryan McCleod – Jason Zucker

Beck Malenstyn – Peyton Krebs – Sam Lafferty

Defense

Rasmus Dahlin – Henri Jokiharju

Bowen Byram – Owen Power

Mattias Samuelsson – Connor Clifton

Goaltenders

Devon Levi (likely starter), Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Columbus Blue Jackets

Forwards

Yegor Chinakhov – Sean Monahan – Kirill Marchenko

Mikael Pyyhtia – Cole Sillinger – Kent Johnson

James Van Riemsdyk – Adam Fantilli – Justin Danforth

Zach Aston-Reese – Sean Kuraly – Mathieu Olivier

Defense

Zach Werenski – Ivan Provorov

Jake Christiansen – Damon Severson

Jordan Harris – Jack Johnson

Goaltenders

Daniil Tarasov (confirmed starter), Jet Greaves