Despite a 36-save perofrmance from Daniil Tarasov, the Blue Jackets lost to the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 at Nationwide Arena on Friday.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLUE JACKETS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| BUF SABRES | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
1st Period
Dmitri Voronkov opened the scoring with his 15th goal of the season on the power play at 12:05 from the doorstep thanks to a nice feed from Kirill Marchenko.
Dimas 15th of the season thanks to assists from Marchenko and Provorov! #CBJ pic.twitter.com/H5OUt8Lt88
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) February 24, 2024
Zemgus Girgensens tied the game at 16:16 with a left-circle shot that took a wacky deflection on its way to the net.
Girgensons ties it up pic.twitter.com/LmYJbbkjjt
— The Charging Buffalo (@TheChargingBUF) February 24, 2024
The teams were tied at one after 20 minutes while the Sabres had a 16-12 advantage in shots on goal.
2nd Period
Neither team scored in the second period but both teams had several good chances highlighted by Yegor Chinakhov hitting the crossbar on a rush 17:37. If he scored, it would have been one of the goals of the year.
Buffalo led 29-19 in shots on goal after 40 minutes of play with both teams tied at one.
3rd Period
Connor Clifton gave the Sabres a 2-1 lead at 3:05 with a slapshot from the point that deflected off of Tarasov's shoulder and in.
Cliftons 1st of the season gives the Sabres the lead pic.twitter.com/Xvj6lw1c6w
— The Charging Buffalo (@TheChargingBUF) February 24, 2024
The Blue Jackets pulled Tarasov for an extra skater with 3:30 left but couldn't score.
With the loss, the Blue Jackets fall to 18-28-10.
Stats
- Shots on Goal: BUF 38-27 CBJ
- Face-off %: BUF 54.2-45.8 CBJ
- Power play: BUF 0/4-1/3 CBJ
- Giveaways: BUF 1-2 CBJ
- Takeaways: BUF 4-5 CBJ
- Blocked shots: BUF 14-12 CBJ
- Hits: BUF 10-9 CBJ
-
5-on-5 stats (via naturalstattrick.com):
- Expected Goals (xG): BUF 1.76-1.36 CBJ
- Shot Attempts (CF): BUF 50-36 CBJ
- Shots on Goal (SF): BUF 30-15 CBJ
- Scoring Chances (SCF): BUF 20-15 CBJ
- High-Danger Chances (HDCF): BUF 5-6 CBJ
Injury Update
- Patrik Laine entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program on Jan. 28 and will be away from the team indefinitely.
- Adam Fantilli suffered a calf laceration on Jan. 28 and is expected to miss eight weeks.
Next Up
The Jackets are back in action on Sunday when they host the Rangers at 6 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.
The club will finish off its two-game homestand on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+ and Hulu.
