GAME AT A GLANCE

THREE STARS
1^st – Tage Thompson, BUF (5-1-6); 2^nd – Alex Tuch, BUF (1-3-4); 3^rd – Rasmus Dahlin, BUF (1-2-3)

GOAL SCORERS
Columbus: P. Laine (5), G. Nyquist (5), P. Laine (6), G. Nyquist (6)
Buffalo: PP – D. Cozens (10), T. Thompson (17), R. Dahlin (9), T. Thompson (18), PP – T. Thompson (19), PP – T. Thompson (20), T. Thompson (21), P. Krebs (1), A. Tuch (13)

GOALTENDERS
Columbus: J. Korpisalo (6 saves on 9 shots on 27:28 TOI); E. Merzlikins (15 saves on 21 shots on 32:32 TOI, L) 
Buffalo: U-P. Luukkonen (20 saves, W)

SPECIAL TEAMS
Columbus PP:  0-for-2, 1 shot
Buffalo PP:  3-for-5, 7 shots

BLUE JACKETS NOTE OF THE GAME

«  LW Patrik Laine notched his second multi-goal and third multi-point game of the season with two goals.  He has recorded points in two consecutive games (2-1-3) and 4-1-5 in his last four appearances, including multiple goals in two of those contests.  He now has 3-6-9 in 11 career meetings vs. Buffalo and points in four of his past five home games (2-4-6).

BLUE JACKETS TEAM NOTES

• The Blue Jackets fell for a third consecutive game and to 5-6-2 in their last 12 contests following tonight’s loss to the Sabres.  The club is also now 4-5-1 in the last 10 games at Nationwide Arena.
• Columbus had its seven-game overall points streak (5-0-2) against Buffalo snapped with the regulation loss.  The club is now 11-4-2 in the last 17 games since Apr. 8, 2016.
• The Winning team in the series has recorded four-plus goals in five-straight contests and nine of the last 10 since Oct. 27, 2018.
• The teams combined for a series-high 13 goals in tonight’s game. It was also tied for the second-most in an all-time single game in franchise history.
• CBJ’s blueliners posted 0-2-2 tonight, improving to 9-23-32 in the last 19 outings and 13-29-42 in 25 games.
• With an assist from D Marcus Bjork, the club’s rookies have now combined for 10-16-26 in 25 games.
• Columbus has recorded 21 multi-goal periods this season, including two goals in both the second and third periods tonight.
• The Blue Jackets concluded their fifth of 16 back-to-back sets tonight, with the club falling to 2-8-0 in back-to-backs this season (2-3-0 in second game).

BLUE JACKETS PLAYER NOTES

«  The Blue Jackets were led by LW Gustav Nyquist in shots (4), C Sean Kuraly in hits (4), D Gavin Bayreuther in blocked shots (3) and D Erik Gudbranson in TOI (22:57).

«  LW Gustav Nyquist notched his first multi-goal and third multi-point game of the season with two goals and now has points in three of the last five outings (3-2-5) and 4-5-9 in his last 12 contests.  He improved to 6-10-16 in 29 career games against the Sabres, including points in three of the past four meetings vs. the club (3-1-4).

«  LW Johnny Gaudreau recorded his team-leading 19^th assist of the campaign while extending his points streak to a  season-high six-straight games (2-8-10, overall 9-19-28 in 25 GP).  The forward also improved to 4-15-19 in his last 12 contests overall and 8-14-22 in 17 home outings.  He has registered 8-8-16 in 14 career games against Buffalo, including points in seven of his eight home contest vs. the club (5-5-10).

«  C Boone Jenner tallied his 10^th assist of the season to give him 1-4-5 in the last five games overall and 9-8-17 in 17 home outings.  He improved to 5-6-11 in 21 career games against Buffalo, including points in his last five consecutive contests vs. the club (2-5-7) and assists in the last four (0-5-5).

«  C Jack Roslovic registered an assist for the third time in the last four games (0-3-3, overall 1-8-9 in 22 appearances). He now has 3-2-5 in his last four contests vs. Buffalo.

«  D Vladislv Gavrikov tallied an assist, giving him 0-3-3 in his last five games (overall 2-5-7 in 25 outings).  He now has points in five-straight contests played against the Sabres (2-4-6).

«  RW Yegor Chinakhov recorded his eighth assist of the campaign, notching a new career high in helpers with 4-8-12 in 24 outings (previously 7-7-14 in 62 games in 2021-22).  The forward has collected 2-4-6 in his last 11 contests.

«  D Marcus Bjork registered an assist of the season and now has 1-3-4 in the past eight games (overall 2-4-6 in 12 appearances).

«  C Sean Kuraly skated in his 100^th career game as a Blue Jacket.

BLUE JACKETS POST-GAME AUDIO INTERVIEWS

HC Brad Larsen  | F Johnny Gaudreau   | D Erik Gudbranson  | F Patrik Laine

SABRES POST-GAME AUDIO INTERVIEWS

HC Don Granato  | D Rasmus Dahlin  | F Tage Thompson

BLUE JACKETS UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Thursday, Dec. 8                      No Practice

Friday, Dec. 9                           vs. Calgary – 7pm ET at Nationwide Arena
Saturday, Dec. 10                    Practice – 12pm ET at Nationwide Arena

COURTESY BLUE JACKETS COMMUNICATIONS