Sabres take win streak into matchup with the Blue Jackets
Buffalo Sabres (35-36-6, in the Atlantic Division) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (35-33-9, in the Metropolitan Division)
Columbus, Ohio; Thursday, 7 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: The Buffalo Sabres will attempt to prolong a five-game win streak with a victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
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Columbus has a 23-10-5 record at home and a 35-33-9 record overall. The Blue Jackets have a 6-7-8 record in games decided by one goal.
Buffalo has a 35-36-6 record overall and a 13-22-3 record on the road. The Sabres have gone 32-11-5 when scoring three or more goals.
The matchup Thursday is the third time these teams square off this season. The Sabres won 3-2 in the last meeting. Alex Tuch led the Sabres with two goals.
TOP PERFORMERS: Kirill Marchenko has 31 goals and 39 assists for the Blue Jackets. Boone Jenner has six goals and three assists over the last 10 games.
Tage Thompson has 44 goals and 27 assists for the Sabres. Tuch has scored eight goals and added five assists over the past 10 games.
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LAST 10 GAMES: Blue Jackets: 4-5-1, averaging three goals, 5.2 assists, 3.4 penalties and eight penalty minutes while giving up 3.9 goals per game.
Sabres: 8-2-0, averaging 4.4 goals, 7.1 assists, 3.4 penalties and 7.1 penalty minutes while giving up three goals per game.
INJURIES: Blue Jackets: None listed.
Sabres: None listed.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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New York Times
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Young players — Adam Fantilli, Kirill Marchenko, Kent Johnson, Cole Sillinger, Dmitri Voronkov, Denton Mateychuk — already look like bona fide NHL players, and their profiles will continue to rise. Not every one of them in a perfectly straight, climbing trajectory, but logic dictates they're still learning and growing. This might be the biggest 'everything is going to be OK' argument, and it's something Waddell hinted at on the day free agency opened, when the Jackets re-signed Provorov: The Jackets' top four — Zach Werenski with Dante Fabbro, Mateychuk with Provorov — wasn't together all season. Fabbro was claimed on waivers in mid-November. Mateychuk didn't come up until just before Christmas. We went digging into this, and the numbers are dramatic In the 41 games in which Werenski, Fabbro, Mateychuk and Provorov all dressed, the Blue Jackets went 26-13-2 (.658 points percentage) and allowed 2.95 goals per game. 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