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BLUE JACKETS (26-20-7) at SABRES (21-26-5), 7 PM, KEYBANK CENTER

COLUMBUS, 4th in Metropolitan
BUFFALO, 8th in Atlantic

Sunday Funday this was not.

The Blue Jackets not only saw their three-game winning streak come to an end two days ago with a 5-3 loss in Dallas, they turned into a bit of a M\A\S*H unit as they were hit hard by the injury bug.

Defenseman Dante Fabbro missed the final two periods after taking an elbow to the head, while leading scorer Kirill Marchenko was hit in the face with a puck on the bench and suffered a broken jaw that will keep him out indefinitely, the team announced Monday. Even Norris Trophy-contending defenseman Zach Werenski missed part of the second period before returning, leaving plenty of open space on the CBJ bench.

Add in some other frustrations, including a review that didn’t go their way on the Stars’ game-winning goal in the third period, and it was a tough day all around for the Blue Jackets. Despite all the adversity, Columbus very nearly left the Lone Star State with at least a point, playing an even game as far as shots and scoring chances were concerned against one of the best teams in the NHL.

“There’s a couple of things that happened in this game that are very frustrating, but they happened and our guys just kept pushing and grinding,” head coach Dean Evason said. “We didn’t get the job done, but we did set ourselves up to get the job done.”

If there was any moment that was symbolic of the Jackets’ dedication, it came in the final seconds. Dallas had a 5-3 lead and the Blue Jackets had the net open with an extra skater on the ice when Ivan Provorov blocked a shot that left him in obvious pain as the final buzzer sounded

The game was essentially over at that point, but Provorov still put his body on the line.

“I just think our guys are competing their (butts) off and trying to do all the right things regardless of the score, regardless of the adversity,” Evason said. “Our guys are playing their (butts) off trying to do the right things to win a hockey game. Even if the hockey game is out of reach, they still are instinctively doing the right things as hockey players.”

That type of resolve will be important as the Blue Jackets try to navigate going forward without another top player or two, starting tonight as they finish a four-game road trip in Buffalo. The Blue Jackets have shown they can not just survive but thrive amid adversity throughout the season, and they don’t expect it to be different with another challenge on the horizon.

“We have quite a bit in this locker room,” Adam Fantilli said. “You gotta do what you gotta do to win at the end of the day. The two points is all that matters, and we’re here sacrificing everything we can and we’re just trying to get the win. It sucks to deal with what we’re dealing with, but you can’t just sit there and be like, ‘Oh damn, we lost our top right winger and a top-pairing (defenseman). Let’s just pack it in.’ That’s not the way it goes.”

Know The Foe: Buffalo Sabres

Head coach: Lindy Ruff (first season)

Team stats: Goals per game: 3.18 (10th) | Scoring defense: 2.47 (3rd) | PP: 19.2 percent (23rd) | PK: 84.1 percent (2nd)

The narrative: The Sabres have a bevy of young talent and looked to be turning the corner a few seasons ago, but they haven’t been able to get over the hump. Buffalo has missed the playoffs for 13 straight seasons, the longest stretch in league history and the second-longest active run of any team in the major four pro sports after the New York Jets. At some point, you have to think it will come together, but it likely won’t be this year – the Sabres enter in last place in the Eastern Conference in points.

Team leaders: With perhaps the hardest shot in the league, Tage Thompson remains one of the best in the NHL at putting the puck in the net, leading the Sabres with 26 goals – tied for eighth in the league – and 48 points on the season. JJ Peterka was an astute second-round pick in the 2020 draft as the German wing is next on the team with a 15-26-41 line. Captain Rasmus Dahlin leads the blue line with 39 points, 33 of them assists, while Jason Zucker (18-20-38) and Alex Tuch (16-21-37) follow.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is tied for fourth in among NHL netminders with 38 starts, posting an 18-15-4 record, 2.97 GAA and .897 save percentage.

What's new: The Sabres actually got off to a decent start and held an 11-9-1 record on Nov. 23, but a 13-game losing streak followed to send Buffalo to the bottom of the league standings. The squad has gone 10-7-1 since the skid ended including three straight wins coming into this one, but Buffalo sits 12 points behind Columbus for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot entering tonight’s action. Thompson has seven goals in the last seven games, but his status could be in doubt after taking a hard hit from New Jersey’s Stefan Noesen on Sunday.

Trending: Columbus won the first matchup of the season by a 6-4 score at Nationwide Arena on Oct. 17 after going 1-1-1 against the Sabres a season ago. The Blue Jackets have recorded points in each of the last eight games played in Buffalo (5-0-3) dating back to March 31, 2019.

Former CBJ: None

Projected CBJ Lineup (Subject to change)

LW 10 Dmitri Voronkov
C 19 Adam Fantilli
RW 4 Cole Sillinger
LW 21 James van Riemsdyk
C 65 Luca Del Bel Belluz
RW 91 Kent Johnson
LW 27 Zach Aston-Reese
C 17 Justin Danforth
RW 24 Mathieu Olivier
LW 82 Mikael Pyyhtia
C 7 Sean Kuraly
RW 62 Kevin Labanc
LD 5 Denton Mateychuk
RD 9 Ivan Provorov
G 90 Elvis Merzlikins (starter)
LD 2 Jake Christiansen
RD 78 Damon Severson
G 40 Daniil Tarasov
LD 22 Jordan Harris
RD 3 Jack Johnson

Scratches: Dylan Gambrell, Zach Werenski (upper body), Dante Fabbro (upper body)

Injured reserve, Injured/Non-Roster list: Kirill Marchenko (broken jaw), Sean Monahan (upper body), Yegor Chinakhov (upper body), Erik Gudbranson (upper body), Boone Jenner (upper body)

Roster Report: The Blue Jackets will be without Marchenko, Werenski and Fabbro tonight because of injury, with Labanc, Johnson and Harris entering the lineup.

The Numbers Game

Since Dec. 19, the Blue Jackets are tied for second in the NHL in wins (14), tied for fourth in points percentage (.714), third in goals per game (3.33) and sixth in power-play percentage (29.8). ... With 17 points (6-11-17) in January, Zach Werenski was named the NHL’s Third Star for the month and broke his own CBJ record for scoring in a calendar month by a defenseman. He has a 14-33-47 line in the last 38 games and has 25 points (6-19-25) in the past 19. His average ice time of 26:48 leads all NHL players, and he’s second among league defensemen in goals (17) and third in points (57) on the season. Werenski also has tied the CBJ season record for points by a defenseman, set by Seth Jones in 2017-18 and equaled by Werenski a season ago. ... Dmitri Voronkov has 22 points (12-10-22) in the last 23 games. ... Adam Fantilli has an 8-8-16 line in the last 15 games and has scored in all three of his career games against the Sabres. … James van Riemsdyk has notched a 6-8-14 line in the last 15 games. ... Kent Johnson has nine points (4-6-10) in the past nine games as well as a seven-game point streak. ... Elvis Merzlikins is 10-3-1 in his last 14 starts and has posted a .926 save percentage in his last seven games. … Columbus is first in the NHL with 122 goals at 5-on-5, and their 3.26 goals per game are eighth in the league. ... Blue Jackets defensemen have 34 goals this season, the most in the NHL. ... The Blue Jackets and Sabres are tied for first in the NHL in scoring first in games, each doing so 33 times. ... Cole Sillinger notched his 100th NHL point in Sunday’s game, while Ivan Provorov is three assists from 100.

This Day in CBJ History

Feb. 4, 2011: Steve Mason stops 34 shots while Antoine Vermette, Jared Boll and Andrew Murray score as the Blue Jackets take a 3-0 victory in Detroit. It is just the franchise’s seventh win in 31 tries in Joe Louis Arena.

Feb. 4, 2020: Elvis Merzlikins earns his fourth shutout in nine team games for the Blue Jackets as they post a 1-0 overtime victory vs. Florida at Nationwide Arena. Merzlikins makes 32 saves while Zach Werenski scores an unassisted goal in overtime on the Blue Jackets’ 45th shot on goal of the night.

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