Blue Jackets at Sabres
The Columbus Blue Jackets are making a push for first place in the Metropolitan Division and hope to continue their surge Saturday, when they visit the Buffalo Sabres in search of their fourth straight win and a sweep of the home-and-home series. Columbus edged Buffalo 4-3 at home on Friday to climb within three points of division-leading Washington, which also sits atop the league standings.
Boone Jenner snapped a 3-3 tie with 5:07 remaining in the third period Friday for the Blue Jackets, who matched the club record for victories in a season (43 in 2013-14) and have earned at least one point in seven of their last eight games (6-1-1). Buffalo's playoff hopes have all but faded, as it trails the New York Islanders by nine points for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with 14 contests remaining and enters Saturday's matchup on a four-game skid (0-3-1). The Sabres have won only one of their last five at home (1-2-2) and are 2-6-2 in their last 10 games overall. Jack Eichel and Ryan O'Reilly, who are tied for the team scoring lead with 45 points, had their respective 11- and five-game streaks snapped in Friday's setback.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Ohio (Columbus), MSG (Buffalo)
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (43-17-6): Sergei Bobrovsky likely will receive a well-deserved night off Saturday after recording his fourth win in nine days in the home-and-home opener. The former Vezina Trophy winner posted three consecutive shutouts before having his scoreless streak halted at 182 minutes, 50 seconds on Friday. Zach Werenski registered an assist against Buffalo for his 40th point of the season, giving the 19-year-old defenseman the franchise rookie record previously held by Rick Nash (39 points in 2002-03).
ABOUT THE SABRES (27-29-12): Eichel collected five goals and 11 assists during his point streak while O'Reilly, who has appeared in 11 more games, notched three tallies and four assists during his run. The 20-year-old Eichel's streak was the longest by a Sabre since Tim Connolly's 16-game string from Dec. 23, 2009-Jan. 25, 2010. Evander Kane leads the team with 24 goals and is six shy of matching the career high he set in 2011-12 with Winnipeg.
OVERTIME
1. Sabres RW Kyle Okposo, who is second on the team with 19 goals, has missed the last four contests with injured ribs and remains week-to-week.
2. Columbus D Seth Jones, who appeared in his 300th NHL game on Friday, has notched an assist in three of his last four contests.
3. Buffalo D Dmitry Kulikov has missed three straight games with an upper-body injury, keeping him stuck on 499 career contests.