3 Takeaways From Blue Jackets’ Complete Team Win Over the Sabres

The Columbus Blue Jackets bounced back in a big way over the visiting Buffalo Sabres on Saturday at a final score of 5-1. After blowing a 2-0 lead in the third period a few nights before against the New Jersey Devils, the Blue Jackets were dominant for a full 60 minutes over the Sabres to open January.

Related: Blue Jackets Put Decisive End to Sabres’ 10-Game Winning Streak

The Sabres came in on a 10-game winning streak, tying the longest in franchise history, and the Blue Jackets ended it emphatically.

Five different skaters scored for the Blue Jackets: Denton Mateychuk, Brendan Gaunce, Dimitri Voronkov, Mathieu Olivier, and Cole Sillinger, while Jet Greaves stopped 32 of 33 Sabres shots on goal. In his return from injury, Zach Werenski finished with two assists and logged 23:12 of ice time, a little less than his usual workload. Mateychuk also finished with two points.

Here are three takeaways from the 5-1 win.

A Full Team Effort

This was a true team win. The top line of Mason Marchment – Adam Fantilli – Kirill Marchenko was held off the scoresheet, but the Blue Jackets still got five goals from five different players. The sold-out crowd appreciated the effort, and the team delivered one of its most complete performances of the season.

The Blue Jackets also got traffic in front and drove toward the net, which paid off on Olivier’s goal as he cut to the crease on his backhand and finished. The defense helped by breaking pucks out cleanly and getting the forwards moving up ice with speed, seen in a few of the goals Saturday.

The Blue Jackets played with more jump and pace in all three zones and were the harder forechecking team for most of the 60 minutes. They avoided the costly mistakes that have hurt them throughout the season, protected a multi-goal lead, and weathered Buffalo’s push late in the second and early third periods.

Greaves Continues to Prove Himself

Greaves delivered another calm and steady performance and continues to look like the clear number-one option in net. He stopped 32 of 33 shots and stayed composed throughout the night, especially during Buffalo’s late push in the second period.

The defensive play in front of him was solid, and the team did a much better job limiting costly turnovers. They did not hang him out to dry the way they did in the third period on New Year’s Eve against the Devils. It was a complete team effort in all three zones, and Greaves benefited from the structure and support around him.

According to moneypuck.com, Greaves faced 48 low-danger shot attempts, 13 medium-danger attempts, and only two high-danger attempts. The lone goal scored on him in the first period came on a medium-danger chance. Overall, the Blue Jackets kept the Sabres to the outside, cleared pucks out of the crease, and blocked shots throughout the game. The team finished with 13 blocked shots, led by Gaunce with three. Marchment added two and continues to provide much-needed forward depth with his defensive effort, offensive ability, and toughness.

Greaves remained calm, collected, and consistent between the pipes, giving the Blue Jackets exactly what they needed. He is the clear number-one goalie moving forward this season.

PK Success Continues

The Blue Jackets’ penalty kill was aggressive and a major factor in the win. Columbus finished a perfect 5-for-5, including an important kill on the Dante Fabbro penalty to start the third period with a 4-1 lead. This was at a critical juncture of the game, and the Blue Jackets did not allow the Sabres to gain any momentum.

The turning point came earlier in the game. After a bad turnover led to Josh Doan’s tying goal, the momentum could have shifted. Instead, Gaunce responded with a shorthanded goal that swung the game back in the Blue Jackets’ favor and turned out to be the game-winner.

Both of Gaunce’s goals this season have come shorthanded, and they are the only two shorthanded goals of his 205-game NHL career.

Gaunce explained the mindset on the penalty kill post-game.

“I think the way we’re killing, we’re applying some pressure up top, so anytime there’s a bobble, we’re trying to apply pressure.”

He also added more about his momentum-swinging shorthanded goal.

“I think obviously there was a little bit of a mishap there, and I just tried to capitalize. I was waiting for him (goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen) to take a step back and trying to catch him a little bit by surprise, but as soon as he started to back up, I tried to shoot it five-hole.”

The Blue Jackets put pressure on the Sabres throughout their power plays, blocked shots, got clears when they needed them, and won important faceoffs to slow Buffalo’s momentum. It was one of their best penalty-killing efforts of the season and was one of the reasons they were able to stop a red-hot Sabres squad.

The penalty kill now sits at 76.8% on the season, still ranked 28th in the NHL, but drastic improvements have been made.

The Blue Jackets will host their rival Pittsburgh Penguins Sunday (Jan. 4) for another 3:00 PM EST start, which will also mark Yegor Chinakhov’s return to Nationwide Arena after being traded earlier this week.