Sunday, February 20, 2021 – 6:00 EST
Nationwide Arena – Columbus, Ohio
TV: Bally Sports Ohio; Radio: 97.1 FM
Opponent’s Blog: Die by the Blade
Buffalo Sabres (16-26-8, 40 points, 7th Atlantic, 13th East)
at
Columbus Blue Jackets (24-23-1, 49 points, 5th Metro, 10th East)
After a successful 4-1 road trip, the Blue Jackets return home for the final game of their season series against the Buffalo Sabres.
Player to Watch
Jean-Francois Berube
Elvis Merzlikins left practice yesterday with a lower body injury. Joonas Korpisalo is day to day with an injury of his own. Daniil Tarasov is still on the IR. That leaves Jean-Francois Berube to start in net. This is not ideal for a team that has struggled in goal even when healthy. Berube last played in the NHL in 2018 and is 9-10-4 with an .898 save percentage and 3.39 GA in 34 appearances in his career.
#CBJ goalie Jean-Francois Berube ahead of his first NHL start in almost four years: “It’s been a long time since I was back in the NHL, and obviously I am more than ready for this opportunity and I’ll make the best of it. … I’m going to stick to what I do best.” pic.twitter.com/tg6RzWiebG
— Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) February 20, 2022
Jackets Notes
Justin Danforth has been activated off the IR. Remember him? He’ll take the place of Trey Fix-Wolansky, who has been returned to Cleveland … Congrats to Finland on winning the gold medal in men’s hockey at the Olympics. CBJ prospect Dmitri Voronkov won a silver medal with ROC and Samuel Knazko won a bronze medal with the surprise team of the tournament, Slovakia.
The Other Bench
Buffalo is on the back half of a back-to-back. They lost at home to Colorado in a surprisingly competitive game. Tage Thompson had a hat trick.
Season Series
11/22/2021 CBJ 7 @ BUF 4
02/10/2022 CBJ 4 @ BUF 3 (OT)
02/20/2022 BUF @ CBJ
Stats
| Buffalo | Columbus | |
|---|---|---|
| 2.66 (25) | GPG | 3.19 (13) |
| 3.48 (27) | GAPG | 3.67 (30) |
| 19.7% (17) | PP% | 17.5% (23) |
| 76.5% (23) | PK% | 80.3% (14) |
| 46.9% (25) | 5v5 Shot Attempt % | 48.0% (21) |
| 45.8% (30) | 5v5 Unblocked shot attempt % | 46.9% (27) |
| 7.9 (21) | 5v5 Shooting % | 9.2 (8) |
| .916 (20) | 5v5 Save % | .904 (29) |
| Jeff Skinner, 20 | G Leader | Boone Jenner, 20 |
| Rasmus Dahlin, 25 | A Leader | Jakub Voracek, 31 |
| Tage Thompson, 37 | P Leader | Boone Jenner, 37 |
| John Hayden, 57 | PIM Leader | Andrew Peeke, 32 |
| 8-12-4 | Home / Road | 12-10-1 |
| 4-5-1 | Last 10 | 6-4-0 |
Projected Lineups
| Patrik Laine | Boone Jenner | Jakub Voracek |
| Gus Nyquist | Cole Sillinger | Oliver BJORKSTRAND |
| Max Domi | Sean Kuraly | Yegor Chinakhov |
| Brendan Gaunce | Jack Roslovic | Justin Danforth |
| Zach Werenski | Andrew Peeke |
| Vladislav Gavrikov | Adam Boqvist |
| Gavin Bayreuther | Dean Kukan |
| Jean-Francois Berube |
| TBD, maybe it’s you! |
| Jeff Skinner | Tage Thompson | Alex Tuch |
| Peyton Krebs | Dylan Cozens | Victor Olofsson |
| Rasmus Asplund | Casey Mittlestadt | Kyle Okposo |
| Anders BJORK | Cody Eakin | John Hayden |
| Rasmus Dahlin | Henri Jokiharju |
| Mattias Samuelsson | Casey Fitzgerald |
| Jacob Bryson | Mark Pysyk |
| Craig Anderson |
| Dustin Tokarski |