PREVIEW: Blue Jackets return to Nationwide Arena to host Sabres
Columbus plays its first February home game tonight while riding a win streak
It was the perfect way to begin the second half of the season coming out of the All-Star break, and the Blue Jackets hope to keep the good vibes going when they return home tonight to start a quick two-game homestand against Buffalo.
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So what went well for the Blue Jackets on the road? Columbus brought its offense, averaging 4.0 goals per game and capping the trip with a 7-4 win at Chicago. Defensively, the team was able to gut out enough solid play to earn four wins. But the hallmark of the trip was likely competitiveness, as the Blue Jackets weren't afraid to play physical hockey and won a lot of puck battles, which allowed the squad to avoid getting hemmed in its own zone and turn defense into offense.
"I think we're focused on our game no matter who we are playing and the level we need to be at as a group," captain Boone Jenner said. "Our preparation and details of a game, competitiveness of late has been ramped up, and obviously we're getting some results because of it. It's just been a good trip and a good effort tonight by everyone to come in here and get a win."
The trip also ended with a bang, and not just because the Jackets scored seven times for the third time this year in the win over the Blackhawks. On what could have been a difficult day to play -- the team spent all day traveling on Wednesday and was at the end of a grueling trip -- the Blue Jackets had energy and dictated a lot of the play.
"I was worried about our energy tonight," head coach Brad Larsen said. "Just coming in, it's been a long road trip here, five games in 11 days, and it was a real long day yesterday traveling and the time change and everything. So I was a little concerned, right? But I thought we started well. We had our legs early. You get the lead and obviously they get two right away, but as far as how we were skating and responding, I was encouraged that way.
"We had to stick with it and keep scoring there, and overall I thought it was a really good effort at the end of a long road trip."
But as Max Domi knows, what has happened in the past is just that. And if the Blue Jackets are to continue climbing back into the playoff race, they can't afford to take any back steps upon the return home.
"Anytime you can win games, it's massive, but that's behind us now," Domi said. "We're not a group that can afford to look in the past. It's behind us now, and we have to get ready for a couple of games at home. We'll enjoy this one tonight and get back and rest up and get ready to go."
Know the Foe
The Blue Jackets will welcome the Sabres to Nationwide Arena for the first time this year, as Columbus has twice earned wins at the KeyBank Center on the eastern shore of Lake Erie. The Blue Jackets pulled away to a 7-4 win over the Sabres on Nov. 22 and also earned a 4-3 overtime win on Jakub Voracek's overtime goal 10 days ago.
Both that game and this one were scheduled for December but being made up now after they were postponed by COVID protocol concerns. Columbus has been able to score on the Sabres -- Jack Roslovic leads the way with three goals against Buffalo while Oliver Bjorkstrand and Vladislav Gavrikov each have two tallies -- while Buffalo has also put up some tallies, with Tage Thompson posting a 2-2-4 line in the two games on the year.
There are some intriguing pieces that are part of the Buffalo rebuild, including two of the pieces from the Jack Eichel trade in veteran Alex Tuch and rookie Peyton Krebs. Tuch, 25, has topped a point per game with a7-12-19 mark in 19 games since joining the Sabres, while Krebs was a first-round pick in 2019 and has three goals and five points in 15 games.
Other key young pieces include 21-year-old defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, an All-Star this year who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft and has a 8-24-32 line this year; Dylan Cozens, a 20-year-old rookie who has 11 goals and 13 assists this year; and 22-year-old goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who has a .917 save percentage in nine games but has returned to Rochester for more seasoning.
The team also has to be encouraged by the breakout season of 25-year-old forward Thompson, a big body with skill who has put it all together this year and is tied for the team lead in scoring with 34 points on 16 goals and 18 helpers. Jeff Skinner adds a team-best 20 goals among his 34 points, including a four-goal game a week ago in Montreal.
Buffalo has won two of three, but the Sabres are 11-24-7 in their last 42 contests and being outscored by an average of 3.71-2.60 in those games. Overall, Buffalo is 25th in the NHL in scoring (2.66 goals per game), 27th in team defense (3.48 goals allowed), 17th in power play (19.7 percent) and 23rd in penalty kill (76.5 percent).
