Sabres vs. Blue Jackets | How to watch, lineup notes, and storylines

The Buffalo Sabres face the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday at 7 p.m. at KeyBank Center.

Columbus remains alive for a wild card spot despite a recent slide, while Buffalo faces a quick turnaround after Wednesday’s 5-3 win in New York.

Against the Rangers, the Sabres struggled with puck management and trailed 3-2 through two periods. In the third, however, they outshot New York 8-1 and flipped the score with goals from Alex Tuch, Jason Zucker and Zach Benson.

“We got back to it in the third period, our game,” Tuch said. “Simple, fast, direct, a little chaos in front. Ended up with two net-front goals, so it was good.”

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The comeback win – Buffalo’s fourth this season when trailing after 40 minutes – provided another example of the Sabres earning two points without their ‘A’ game.

It also gave them a two-point lead atop the Atlantic Division with a week remaining. Competitors Tampa Bay and Montreal play one another Thursday, and a regulation result there would help Buffalo’s chances at home-ice advantage in the first round.

“Our fans have been incredible, so anytime you can play more games on home ice, the better,” Zucker said. “But for us, our focus is getting to our game and feeling really comfortable with what we’re doing and having the most confidence possible going into Game 1.”

Here are details before Thursday’s puck drop in Buffalo.

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How to watch

TV (Sabres broadcast market): MSG (Pregame coverage begins at 6:30 p.m.)

Streaming: Gotham Sports App

Radio: WGR 550 / Buffalo Sabres App

More ways to watch/listen to Sabres games

Lineup notes

Goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen figures to rest after playing Wednesday night in New York. It’s unclear whether Alex Lyon, who left Wednesday’s morning skate with a lower-body tweak, is an option to face the Blue Jackets; if not, Colten Ellis would likely make his first start since Feb. 3.

Coach Lindy Ruff said Jordan Greenway will be back in the lineup against Columbus after sitting out the Rangers game.

Check back after Ruff’s 5 p.m. media availability and 6:30 p.m. warmups for additional lineup updates.

Notable numbers

• The Sabres are 8-1-3 in the second game of back to backs this season.
• With three wins to conclude the regular season, Buffalo would match its point total (110) from 2005-06.
• Zucker has the winning goal in back-to-back games and a team-high seven game winners this season.
• Benson is coming off his second career two-goal game. He’s up to a career-high 12 goals, including five in the last 10 games.
• Ryan McLeod has won 52.9 percent of his faceoffs over the last 16 games.
• Rasmus Dahlin has 71 points (18+53) this season, two short of his career high from 2022-23.
• Tuch is up to 198 career goals after tying Wednesday’s game in the third period.
• Buffalo has 13 players with 10-plus goals, the most of any team in the NHL.

Scouting the Blue Jackets

The Blue Jackets got as hot as the Sabres after hiring Rick Bowness as coach in January, but they recently lost six straight. That ended with Tuesday’s late comeback in Detroit, which has the Blue Jackets two points behind Ottawa for the second wild card spot. They’ve got a tough remaining schedule, though, facing Montreal, Boston and Washington after Buffalo.

Columbus is the only Eastern Conference team Buffalo has yet to beat this season. The Sabres lost in overtime on home ice in October, then had their 10-game winning streak snapped with a Jan. 3 blowout at Nationwide Arena.