Game Preview: Blue Jackets Seek To End Sabres 10-Game Winning Streak In Saturday Matinee

It's afternoon hockey at Nationwide Arena on Saturday when the Columbus Blue Jackets host the white-hot Buffalo Sabres.

Winners of ten straight games, the Sabres have catapulted from the bottom of the Eastern Conference and into a wild card spot. 

Columbus, meanwhile, saw a brief, three-game winning streak come to an end Wednesday night in a 3-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils.

Here are five other things to know before the 3:00 p.m. puck-drop:

• The Sabres ten-game winning streak is tied for their longest in franchise history. It's the fourth time they've accomplished that feat, and the first since November 2018. They've never had an 11-game winning streak. It's been a well-rounded streak, too: over the last ten games, the Sabres have allowed three goals or less in every single game, and they've scored three times or more in all ten games, too. For the run, the Sabres have outscored their opponents at a 2-to-1 clip: 36-18. 
   
• Zach's back! Werenski, who was named to the United States Olympic team Friday, missed nearly two weeks with a lower-body injury. For the season, Werenski has 14 goals and 26 assists (40 points) in 35 games played. He'll pick up on a five-game point streak, four of which have been multi-point games. Z also has points in 12 straight contests at Nationwide Arena.
   
• Danton Heinen looks to make his Blue Jackets debut Saturday. Acquired last week in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the 30-year-old forward had one goal and one assist in 13 games this season before coming over to Columbus. In his nearly-600 game NHL career, Heinen has 97 goals and 146 assists (243 points).
   
• With his first-period goal Wednesday, Mason Marchment became the first player in franchise history to get at least one point in each of his first give games. He has four goals and a pair of assists since coming over from the Seattle Kraken in a December trade.
   
• Werenski jumps right back into the top pairing, of course, and should play opposite of Denton Mateychuk. Heinen will take the spot of Miles Wood, who is week-to-week with a lower body injury suffered in Wednesday's loss. Here are the complete projections: