Game Day #78: Blue Jackets try to stay alive vs. Sabres

Thursday, April 10, 2025 – 7:00 PM EDT
Nationwide Arena – Columbus, Ohio
TV: FDSNOH; Radio: 97.1 FM
Opponent’s site: Die By The Blade

Buffalo Sabres (35-36-6, 76 points, 7th Atlantic, 13th East)

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Columbus Blue Jackets (35-33-9, 79 points, 6th Metro, 12th East)

The Blue Jackets need a win to avoid elimination. In their way are the traditional Wednesday Night Rivals.

Players to Watch

Sean Monahan, Mathieu Olivier, Adam Fantilli

The Blue Jackets have already had five players hit the 20 goal mark: Kirill Marchenko, Adam Fantilli, Kent Johnson, Dmitri Voronkov, and Zach Werenski. Sean Monahan and Mathieu Olivier sit at 18 goals a piece, so there’s a solid chance that either can hit that mark in these last five games. Fantilli sits at 48 points, 2 away from the 50 point mark, which has already been met this season by Werenski, Marchenko, Johnson, and Monahan.

Jackets Notes

Sean Monahan was announced yesterday as the Blue Jackets’ nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. He was selected by the Columbus chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. The full body of the PHWA will vote on the winner, and Monahan is a strong favorite given both his off-ice tragedy and on-ice success … Montreal sits at 87 points and the Jackets are at 79, with the Rangers, Wings, and Islanders in between. As a result, it needs to be regulation wins from this point forward to stave off elimination. One more regulation win from Montreal or regulation loss from Columbus eliminates the Jackets.

The Other Bench

There was both good and bad in the last Sabres game, where they shut out the Carolina Hurricanes. The good news: they won their fifth game in a row, and 8 out of the last 9. The bad: they were eliminated from playoff contention anyway, marking the 14th year in a row that they have missed the postseason. That ties the New York Jets of the NFL for the longest active playoff drought in the four major sports leagues in North America.

Season Series

10/17/2024 BUF 4 @ CBJ 6
02/04/2025 CBJ 2 @ BUF 3
04/10/2025 BUF @ CBJ

Stats

Projected Lineups

Columbus Blue Jackets

Buffalo Sabres