CBJ 5, BUF 1: Greaves Makes 32 Saves, Five Different Blue Jackets Score As Columbus Ends Buffalo's Ten-Game Winning Streak

	1	2	3	F
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CBJ GOALS:  Mateychuk (1st, 3:00) Gaunce (SH) (1st, 14:04) Voronkov (1st, 17:12) Olivier (2nd, 8:04) Sillinger (EN) (3rd, 11:46)

The Columbus Blue Jackets got 2026 off to a great start.

Jet Greaves stopped 32 shots, five different players scored, and three defensemen had a multi-point game as Columbus ended the Buffalo Sabres' 10-game winning streak Saturday afternoon with a 5-1 victory in front of an over-capacity crowd at Nationwide Arena.

Denton Mateychuk got the scoring started early for the Blue Jackets, putting Columbus up 1-0 at exactly 3:00 of the first period. 

After Buffalo's Josh Doan tied the game in the middle of the first, the Blue Jackets scored a pair of goals in a span of 3:08 to go up 3-1 heading into the first intermission.

The first one was a short-handed goal Brendan Gaunce, and the second was a Dmitri Voronkov tip-shot that just barely cleared the line and got into the net.

Mathieu Olivier scored at the 8:04 mark of the middle period to put Columbus up three and Cole Sillinger made it 5-1 with an empty-net goal (with over eight minutes left in the game) to seal the deal. 

Mateychuk and Zach Werenski, who was back in the lineup Saturday after missing nearly two weeks with a lower-body injury, picked up the assists on Sillinger's goal. It was the second point of the game for each defenseman, and they joined Damon Severson — who assisted on the Voronkov and Olivier tallies — in the multi-point efforts from Columbus defensemen.

But the story was Greaves, who was named the number one Star of the Game. Buffalo had double-digit shots in all three periods, including stopping five total opportunities on the Sabres had on the power play.

"There's just a lot of cohesiveness right now," said Greaves. "I think everyone understands what we're supposed to be doing and I think it's been effective."

Here's how the Blue Jackets picked up their fourth win in five games:

1st Period:

(3:00 — CBJ Goal): A big-time rip from Mateychuk puts the Blue Jackets in front early. Boone Jenner enters the zone with the puck and leaves it at the point for Mateychuk, who skates into the edge of the right circle and fires it past Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to give Columbus a 1-0 lead at the three-minute mark of the opening frame.

Denton Mateychuk gets his eighth goal of the season to move into the top ten for goals from defensemen in the NHL. An absolute rip from the right circle that puts the #CBJ in front 1-0 early.

Werenski's assist extends his home point streak to 13 games.pic.twitter.com/m5vDVLUHu9

— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) January 3, 2026

(11:26 — BUF Goal): Doan ties it at 1-1 with well-done helpers from Josh Norris and Owen Power. Columbus' clearing attempt fails as Power keeps it in, then gets it up front to Norris. He gets a back-handed pass across to Doan, who beats Greaves to knot the game.

JOSH DOAN@fatteybeer

JOSH NORRIS WITH A DISGUSTING BACKHAND PASS TO JOSH DOAN!!!

1-1 HOCKEY GAME. #SabreHood #CBJ

pic.twitter.com/tXTz5SvbKe

— 2 Goalies 1 Mic (@2Goalies1Mic) January 3, 2026

(14:04 — CBJ Goal): Gaunce has two goals this season, and they've both been of the short-handed variety. This one starts with Tage Thompson tripping himself all the way down, giving Gaunce a particularly open breakaway. He beats Luukkonen to restore a Columbus lead, this time at 2-1.

A busy opening period of hockey so far, including this Brendan Gaunce short-handed strike that put the #CBJ back in front. Gaunce has two goals this season, both shorties.pic.twitter.com/CXTE92mM3p

— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) January 3, 2026

(17:12 — CBJ Goal): Voronkov extends the lead to 3-1 with his 14th goal of the campaign. Good puck movement around the boards from Damon Severson and Ivan Provorov, the latter of which shoots it on net. Voronkov is there for a tip-in that just barely eeks past the line, putting Columbus up 3-1.

3-1 #CBJ as the second period is ready to begin. The final goal of the first was this one from Dmitri Voronkov, which justttt made it into the back of the net. pic.twitter.com/lup4ZBq1v8

— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) January 3, 2026

2nd Period:

(8:04 — CBJ Goal): Columbus makes it 4-1 on Olivier's fourth goal of the season. Zach Aston-Reese flips the puck out of the Blue Jackets zone and Olivier slices through and beats the Buffalo defense, first batting the puck forward at the point and then collecting it again near the low slot before finding the back of the net for the goal.

Olivier gets his first goal since November 13th and it gives the #CBJ a 4-1 lead. Matty O's 10th point of the season (four goals, six assists).pic.twitter.com/Bf4nSHcMGF

— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) January 3, 2026

3rd Period:

(11:46 — CBJ Goal): Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff pulls Luukkonen with an exorbitant amount of time left and with 8:14 remaining in the game, Sillinger becomes the fifth Blue Jacket of the game to find the back of the net and puts Columbus up 5-1.

Cole Sillinger ices it with an empty netter...

...with over eight minutes left in the game.

5-1 #CBJpic.twitter.com/Jja1jheL1b

— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) January 3, 2026

Stat Chat:

• Werenski's assist on the Mateychuk goal extended his point streak to six games — and gave him 13 straight home games with at least one point, too.
   
• In his Blue Jackets debut, Danton Heinen skated a total of 14 shifts and was on the ice for a team-low 8:51 as he gets acquainted. He was a +1 plus/minus and had one hit.
   
• Jet Greaves has now allowed three or goals less in his last 11 games (.927 save percentage), including ten starts. He's 5-6-0 in those games, despite allowing two goals or less in a majority (six) of that action. According to MoneyPuck, Greaves' stopped 2.81 goals above expected (3.81) in Saturday’s win.

Up Next:

The second leg of a home weekend back-to-back is another 3:00 p.m. puck-drop when the Blue Jackets welcome back Yegor Chinakhov and the Pittsburgh Penguins to Nationwide Arena.