Game Preview #59 - Trees Falling In Forests
Will this game make a sound?
Buffalo Sabres at Columbus Blue Jackets
February 24, 2015 - 7:00 pm EST
Nationwide Arena - Columbus, Ohio
Radio - WBNS 97.1 - TV - Fox Sports Ohio
Opponent's Blog: Die By The Blade
Boy, there isn't much to get fired up about with respect to this matchup. Give the Sabres credit, though: despite the huge talent gap, they haven't packed it in, taking a tough Nashville team to OT the other night. If the Jackets expect these guys to roll over, they are in for a rude awakening.
That said, if Columbus still believes that they have playoff chances, they must come out and dominate this game. They've shown the ability to play with the best teams in the east on this road trip--even if only for chunks of games--but they can ill afford a slow start again tonight. Don't even give the young Sabes any hope.
Anton Forsberg gets the start tonight, and James Wisniewski is back in the lineup. Brandon Dubinsky missed morning skate due to illness, but is expected to play tonight.
Remember: this is similar to the Sabres team that ended the Jackets eight-game winning streak last season. Don't expect to just chalk this up as a win. It has the potential to be a nightmare let-down.
Projected Lineups
Columbus Blue Jackets
(26-28-4, 56 Points; 7th division, 13th conference)
| Scott Hartnell | Ryan Johansen | Alexander Wennberg |
| Matt Calvert | Brandon Dubinsky | Cam Atkinson |
| Nick Foligno | Artem Anisimov | Marko Dano |
| Corey Tropp | Mark Letestu | Jared Boll |
| Jack Johnson | David Savard |
| Kevin Connauton | James Wisniewski |
| Fedor Tyutin | Cody Goloubef |
| Anton Forsberg |
| Curtis McElhinney |
Buffalo Sabres
(17-38-5, 39 Points; 8th Division, 16th Conference)
| Chris Stewart | Zemgus Girgensons | Tyler Ennis |
| Matt Moulson | Torrey Mitchell | Brian Gionta |
| Marcus Foligno | Brian Flynn | Nicolas Deslauriers |
| Johan Larsson | Matt Ellis | Cody Hodgson |
| Andre Benoit | Zach Bogosian |
| Jake McCabe | Rasmus Ristolainen |
| Andrej Meszaros | Mark Pysyk |
| Michal Neuvirth |
| Anders Lindback |
Season Series
BUF - 0-1-0
CBJ - 1-0-010/09/14 - Columbus 3 at Buffalo 1
02/24/15 - Buffalo at Columbus
04/10/15 - Buffalo at Columbus
Head to Head Stats
| Buffalo | Columbus | |
| 1.72 (30) | GPG | 2.57 (22) |
| 3.32 (30) | GAPG | 3.07 (26) |
| 11.4% (30) | PP% | 21.2% (6) |
| 74.8% (29) | PK% | 81.0% (16) |
| Tyler Ennis, 15 | G leader | Nick Foligno, 23 |
| Tyler Ennis, 18 | A leader | Nick Foligno, 32 |
| Tyler Ennis, 33 | Pts leader | Nick Foligno, 55 |
| Nicolas Deslauriers, 64 | PIM leader | Jared Boll, 79 |
| 6-20-2 | Road/Home | 12-14-2 |
| 3-5-2 | Last 10 | 5-4-1 |
| 2/22 vs. Nashville, L 2-1 (OT) | Last Game | 2/22 @ NY Rangers, L 4-3 (SO) |