• HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • Site Index
  • NHL Salary Caps
  • Hockey 101: A Beginner’s Guide
  • Join Our Team
  • Free Newsletter
  • Store
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
Home
Columbus Blue Jackets

Blue Jackets Blank Sabres – Bobrovsky Earns Shutout

By The Canadian Press April 1st, 2019

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 38 shots and the Columbus Blue Jackets won their fifth straight by beating the free-falling Buffalo Sabres 4-0 on Sunday night.

The Blue Jackets continued to close in on their third straight playoff berth while entering the final week of the season. With 94 points, they jumped into seventh-place in the Eastern Conference standings, a point ahead of Carolina and two up on idle Montreal.

Bobrovsky took over the NHL lead with his ninth shutout — one more than Vegas’ Marc-Andre Fleury — and third in five games.

Columbus Blue Jackets Sergei Bobrovsky
Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

Nick Foligno capped a three-goal first period and Pierre-Luc Dubois scored his 25th and added two assists. Oliver Bjorkstrand and Josh Anderson had a goal each for a Columbus team that has scored four or more in each of its past five, a stretch in which the Blue Jackets have outscored their opponents by a combined 24-4.

The Sabres appeared lifeless in adding yet another dud to what has been a lengthy second-half collapse, and raised further questions as to whether the players have quit on second-year coach Phil Housley.

A large group of fans in the upper level — within earshot of where Sabres general manager Jason Botterill sits — began chanting “Fire Housley” during a break four minutes into the third period.

Buffalo was shut out for the seventh time this season and fifth time in 12 outings.

Linus Ullmark made 32 saves in dropping to 0-6-1 in his past seven — a stretch during which he has allowed 25 goals.

Buffalo was coming off a 5-1 loss at the New York Islanders on Saturday, and dropped to 0-6-1 in its past seven and 1-12-1 over its past 14. The slump actually began in late November after the Sabres briefly took over first place in the overall standings following a 10-game win streak. Buffalo has since gone 14-32-8 in a slide that has tumbled them into 27th overall.

Columbus, playing a night after a 5-2 win at Nashville, was being outshot 7-1 through the first 6:20, before closing the period by scoring three times on its next 12 shots.

Columbus Blue Jackets Josh Anderson
Columbus Blue Jackets forward Josh Anderson with the bench (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)

Dubois opened the scoring 7:14 in, when Seth Jones’ shot from the right circle banked in off him and into the open left side.

Bjorkstrand scored 6 1/2 minutes later by one-timing in Dubois’ pass into the high slot.

Foligno capped the run by drawing Ullmark away from the right post before circling behind the net and wrapping the puck in off the stick of Buffalo defenceman Brandon Montour with 2:13 left.

The Sabres were booed off the ice after each of the first two periods. And one of the louder cheers came when the public address announcer noted there was one minute left in the second period.

Bobrovsky wasn’t really tested until the third period, with his best stops coming eight minutes in. First, he got his blocker up to turn aside Montour’s shot from the right point, and Bobrovsky recovered in time to kick out his right pad in stopping Jeff Skinner attempting to convert the rebound in front.

NOTES: Blue Jackets improved their road record to 23-14-2 and matched the single-season franchise mark for road wins set in 2014-15, when they went 23-15-3. … Sabres D Jake McCabe returned after missing 13 games with a shoulder injury. … Blue Jackets have 246 goals, one short of matching franchise single-season record set in 2016-17.

UP NEXT

Blue Jackets: Seek to extend season-best five-game home winning streak in regular-season home finale against Boston on Tuesday.

Sabres: Host Nashville Predators on Tuesday.

___

More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

John Wawrow, The Associated Press

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

Get theScore App Now!
Recent Posts
Jan 20th 6:10 PM
Column

Red Wings News & Rumors: Protocol, Rasmussen, Howard & More

Jan 20th 6:00 PM
Nashville Predators

Predators’ Forward Depth Leading to Wins

Jan 20th 5:35 PM
Column

Islanders Weekly: Shutouts, Injury Scares & Scoring Concerns

Jan 20th 4:33 PM
Archives

2010 NHL Entry Draft: 5 Forgotten Picks

Jan 20th 4:15 PM
Vegas Golden Knights

3 Pros and 3 Cons to Golden Knights’ Goalie Split

Jan 20th 4:05 PM
Florida Panthers

Panthers Offense Flourishes but Goaltending & Special Teams Need Work

Jan 20th 3:15 PM
Column

Red Wings Wednesday Weekly: Hockey is Back Everyone!

Jan 20th 2:35 PM
Chicago Blackhawks

Blackhawks Seeing Hot Starts From Some but Serious Concerns Linger

Jan 20th 2:20 PM
NHL Entry Draft

2021 NHL Draft Rankings: Baracchini’s Top 75 Rankings

Jan 20th 1:50 PM
Philadelphia Flyers

Flyers’ Goaltending & Defense Among Standouts Through Week 1

Editor’s Picks
World Junior Championship All-Time Leading Scorers

World Junior Championship All-Time Leading Scorers

2021 Guide To the World Junior Championship

2021 Guide To the World Junior Championship

Masthead

Newsletters

RSS Feeds

Privacy Statement

Contact Us

About THW…

Founded in 2009, The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news and information on everything hockey. Updated daily with news and features from over 130 writers worldwide. Over 2 million monthly readers now come to THW for their hockey fix.

© The Hockey Writers 2020. All rights reserved.
logo
  • HOME
  • Hockey Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • North Division
    • Calgary Flames
    • Edmonton Oilers
    • Montreal Canadiens
    • Ottawa Senators
    • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Vancouver Canucks
    • Winnipeg Jets
  • East Division
    • Boston Bruins
    • Buffalo Sabres
    • New Jersey Devils
    • New York Islanders
    • New York Rangers
    • Philadelphia Flyers
    • Pittsburgh Penguins
    • Washington Capitals
  • Central Division
    • Carolina Hurricanes
    • Chicago Blackhawks
    • Columbus Blue Jackets
    • Dallas Stars
    • Detroit Red Wings
    • Florida Panthers
    • Nashville Predators
    • Tampa Bay Lightning
  • West Division
    • Anaheim Ducks
    • Arizona Coyotes
    • Colorado Avalanche
    • Los Angeles Kings
    • Minnesota Wild
    • San Jose Sharks
    • Seattle Kraken
    • St Louis Blues
    • Vegas Golden Knights
  • World Juniors
  • CHL
    • Ontario Hockey League
    • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
    • Western Hockey League
  • THW Podcast Network
  • Store
  • FREE Newsletter
  • Search THW
  • More…
    • Join Our Team
    • The THW Archives
    • Prospects
    • The Goalie Page
    • NHL Salary Cap Information