PREVIEW: Blue Jackets welcome Sabres for Kids Takeover

With a chance to run their winning streak to four games, the Blue Jackets let one get away on New Year’s Eve against New Jersey.

Columbus was up 2-0 on the Devils through 40 minutes and largely carried play in Nationwide Arena, but New Jersey’s three goals in a span of 1:56 early in the third were the difference in a 3-2 victory for a desperate visiting team.

According to Natural Stat Trick, the Blue Jackets had a 16-2 edge in high-danger chances and a 3.88-2.00 advantage in expected goals at 5-on-5, while MoneyPuck.com’s Deserve To Win O’Meter had the Blue Jackets with a 64.1 percent chance to win given the quality of chances they created. Yet, in the end, it was another frustrating loss in a season of them.

“I don’t want to take credit away from them, but three minutes, two minutes, that’s what cost us, so yeah, (it’s) very frustrating,” Mathieu Olivier said afterward. “We put ourselves in a good position to win for 57 minutes, and it’s pretty insane that we’re standing here with a loss with that kind of game.”

Head coach Dean Evason went over the video after the loss and acknowledged it was pretty difficult to believe the Blue Jackets let it get away, but the mistakes made were of the crucial variety as they so often have been this season. The first goal scored by the Devils was a screened, deflected shot on the power play after an offensive zone penalty by the Blue Jackets, then the Blue Jackets allowed an odd-man rush on the second goal and lost a coverage to allow a clean shot on the winner.

“We had some good teaching video this morning on some of the things that we got out of our game (from) the three games prior to that,” Evason said Friday. “Like the third periods. We talked to the group that in the three games prior to that game in the third period, we were 6-0 (outscoring teams), and it wasn’t because we cheated offensively. We just played the game the same way.

“We made some mistakes in that last game, and they weren’t all the same, right? One’s a penalty that ends up in our net, and then one’s not being on the right side on the rush, and then our coverage was bad on the third one.

“So having said that, after that, we watched and we had plenty of opportunities, and certainly with the empty net we had plenty of opportunities to score. So there was some positivity. But obviously it’s always a negative when you give up that many goals quickly like that, and how we did it, but we did a lot of really good things in the hockey game as well.”

The Blue Jackets will kick off 2026 with back-to-back home games this weekend, starting with today’s afternoon contest vs. a red-hot Buffalo team that boasts the NHL’s longest win streak at 10 games. The good news is that standout defenseman Zach Werenski was not only named to the U.S. Olympic team Friday, he got through a full practice and expects to play today against the Sabres.

It also will be Kids Takeover presented by Bob Evans Farms, celebrating the youngest members of the 5th Line. A CBJ sticker sheet will be given to kids ages 13 and under in attendance, while kids will take on exciting Blue Jackets roles throughout the evening, including Public Address Announcer, members of the Jet’s Pizza Boom Brigade, and more.

Among the kids are two of this season’s Hockey Fights Cancer pediatric heroes – Bryan, age 10, and Braelyn, age 13. Bryan will serve as Kid Reporter, while Braelyn will step into the role of In-Arena Host, adding a special and inspiring element to the night.

Scratches: F Sean Monahan (maintenance), D Dysin Mayo

Injured reserve/Non-Roster: F Miles Wood (lower body injury, week to week); D Erik Gudbranson (upper body injury, day to day); F Isac Lundeström (lower body injury, week to week); D Brendan Smith (lower body injury, week to week)

Roster Report: Columbus appears set to get Werenski back into the fold after he’s missed four games with a lower body injury, but Wood is out after suffering an injury New Year’s Eve and Monahan is not expected to play. Acquired Monday from Pittsburgh, Heinen has been recalled from AHL Cleveland and appears likely to make his CBJ debut.

This Day in CBJ History

Jan. 3, 2017: The Blue Jackets defeat Edmonton by a 3-1 score at Nationwide Arena to extend their winning streak to 16 games, one shy of the NHL record. Cam Atkinson gives the Blue Jackets the lead in the first with a power-play goal, William Karlsson nets the game winner with second-period power-play tally, and Nick Foligno adds an insurance goal in the third. It would be the final victory of the Jackets’ historic streak.

The Numbers Game

Mason Marchment (four goals, two assists) is the first player in Blue Jackets history to begin his CBJ career with a five-game point streak. ... Zach Werenski is second among NHL defensemen in goals (14) and tied for second points (40), second in average ice time (26:48) and is first in multipoint games (14). He has points in 16 of his last 19 games (10-19-29) and at least one point in his last 12 home games (9-13-22). ... Kirill Marchenko has four goals in the last four games. ... Damon Severson (1-5-6) and Denton Mateychuk (1-4-5) each have at least a point per game in the last five contests. ... Blue Jackets defensemen have scored 31 goals this season, the most in the NHL. … Goaltender Jet Greaves finished December with a 2.29 GAA and .922 save percentage in 10 appearances. ... Adam Fantilli scored 36 goals in 2025, fourth most ever by a CBJ player in a calendar year behind just Rick Nash (43 in 2009, and 39 in 2006) and Cam Atkinson (42 in 2018). ... The Blue Jackets have killed 18 of 20 penalties (90.0 percent) over the last seven games. ... Werenski is three assists shy of becoming the first CBJ player to notch 300 career helpers, while Boone Jenner is five assists away from 200. In addition, Danton Heinen is three goals from 100 in his NHL career. ... Jenner became the fourth CBJ player to reach the 400-point milestone in his career with an assist Wednesday, joining Nash (547), Werenski (424) and Atkinson (402).

Know The Foe: Buffalo Sabres

Head coach: Lindy Ruff (Second season)

Team stats: Goals per game: 3.10 (T-14th) | Scoring defense: 3.10 (T-16th) | PP: 18.8 percent (18th) | PK: 85.0 percent (2nd)

The narrative: Is this the year? Buffalo’s NHL-record run of 14 straight seasons without a postseason appearance had led to considerable pain – and at times, apathy – in Western New York, and the Sabres looked to be well on the way to making it 15 when they sat at 11-14-4 on Dec. 8. But a 10-game winning streak has vaulted the team right back into the thick of the playoff race, spurred in part by the promotion of former CBJ general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen to GM on Dec. 15.

Scoring leaders: Tage Thompson has asserted himself as one of the NHL’s top goal scorers – and made Team USA’s roster for the upcoming Olympics – and has shown no signs of slowing down, leading Buffalo with 20 goals and 37 points while scoring seven times in the last 10 games. Alex Tuch follows with a 12-20-32 line, while Rasmus Dahlin leads the defense with four goals and 24 assists for 28 points. Offseason acquisition Josh Doan appears to have been a shrewd pickup as he has 11 goals among 26 points.

In net: The Sabres have played three different goalies during the streak, but Alex Lyon has gotten the majority of the playing time with seven starts, though he recently suffered a lower body injury. The veteran netminder is 10-6-3 this season with a 2.82 GAA and .906 save percentage, while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (7-5-1, 2.46, .903) and Colten Ellis (4-3-0, 3.25, .895) are also on the roster.

What's new: If there’s a big key to the Sabres’ winning streak, it’s team defense, as a squad that has struggled to keep goals out of the net in recent years has outscored teams 36-18 and allowed two or fewer goals in eight of the 10 games. Lyon isn’t the only player battling injury, as forwards Jason Zucker, Jiri Kulich, Tyler Kozak and Justin Danforth as well as defenseman Conor Timmins have all missed time of late. It seems as though the elevation of Kekäläinen has been a shot of energy to the squad, and the Sabres hold the final wild card spot at the moment.

Trending: Miles Wood notched the overtime winner Oct. 28 in the first meeting between the teams this season, a 4-3 victory for the Blue Jackets in Buffalo. The Blue Jackets have won three of the last four in the series.

Former CBJ: Joshua Dunne has found a home on the Buffalo fourth line this season, playing 26 games and posting a goal and three assists. Danforth signed with Buffalo in the offseason after four seasons in Columbus but went on injured reserve (lower body) after playing four games.