NHL-Schedules.com

Buffalo Sabres at Columbus Blue Jackets

Nationwide Arena, Columbus Regular Season Final

Final score

The Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Buffalo Sabres 5–1 on Saturday, January 3, 2026 at home.

Team Goals 2025-2026 record
Buffalo Sabres 1 50-23-9
at Columbus Blue Jackets 5 40-30-12

Goals by period

Team Total
Buffalo Sabres 1 0 0 1
Columbus Blue Jackets 3 1 1 5

Shots on goal by period

Team Total
Buffalo Sabres 10 11 12 33
Columbus Blue Jackets 13 14 8 35

Three stars

  1. J. Greaves, Columbus Blue Jackets (goaltender)
  2. D. Mateychuk, Columbus Blue Jackets (1 goal, 1 assist)
  3. B. Gaunce, Columbus Blue Jackets (1 goal)

Scoring summary

Period Time Team Goal Assists Type Score
1st 03:00 Columbus Blue Jackets Denton Mateychuk (8) Boone Jenner (12), Zach Werenski (27) Even strength BUF 0, CBJ 1
1st 11:26 Buffalo Sabres Josh Doan (12) Josh Norris (8), Owen Power (9) Even strength BUF 1, CBJ 1
1st 14:04 Columbus Blue Jackets Brendan Gaunce (2) Unassisted Shorthanded BUF 1, CBJ 2
1st 17:12 Columbus Blue Jackets Dmitri Voronkov (14) Ivan Provorov (10), Damon Severson (13) Even strength BUF 1, CBJ 3
2nd 08:04 Columbus Blue Jackets Mathieu Olivier (4) Zachary Aston-Reese (4), Damon Severson (14) Even strength BUF 1, CBJ 4
3rd 11:46 Columbus Blue Jackets Cole Sillinger (5) Denton Mateychuk (11), Zach Werenski (28) Even strength, Empty net BUF 1, CBJ 5

Numbers in brackets are the player's season totals after the goal.

Team stats

Stat Buffalo Sabres Columbus Blue Jackets
Shots on goal 33 35
Power play 0 of 5 0 of 1
Penalty minutes 6 14
Hits 15 23
Blocked shots 15 13
Giveaways 21 14
Takeaways 2 5
Faceoffs won 31/59 (52.5%) 28/59 (47.5%)

Box score

Buffalo Sabres

Buffalo Sabres skaters
Player
6 Z. Benson L 0 0 0 -1 2 3 1 1 16:39
9 J. Norris C 0 1 1 -2 2 2 0 2 52.9% 17:38
12 J. Greenway L 0 0 0 -1 0 0 1 0 08:36
19 P. Krebs C 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 3 14:28
22 J. Quinn R 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 15:53
29 B. Malenstyn L 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 0 07:53
44 J. Dunne C 0 0 0 -1 0 1 2 0 87.5% 08:15
71 R. McLeod C 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 33.3% 16:59
72 T. Thompson C 0 0 0 -3 0 4 2 2 57.1% 22:42
86 N. Ostlund C 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 12:36
89 A. Tuch R 0 0 0 -2 0 5 2 1 100% 19:49
91 J. Doan R 1 0 1 -2 0 1 0 0 21:30
4 B. Byram D 0 0 0 -2 0 3 1 1 24:33
23 M. Samuelsson D 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 20:59
25 O. Power D 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 21:41
26 R. Dahlin D 0 0 0 -3 0 1 2 1 25:30
73 Z. Metsa D 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 09:46
78 J. Bryson D 0 0 0 -1 2 1 1 1 09:59
Buffalo Sabres goalies
Goalie
1 U. Luukkonen 34 30 4 .882 58:34 Loss

Columbus Blue Jackets

Columbus Blue Jackets skaters
Player
3 C. Coyle C 0 0 0 +2 0 4 2 1 50% 14:49
4 C. Sillinger C 1 0 1 +1 0 2 2 0 37.5% 12:12
10 D. Voronkov L 1 0 1 +1 0 3 1 1 09:11
16 B. Gaunce C 1 0 1 +3 0 1 0 3 57.1% 16:14
17 M. Marchment L 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 50% 15:45
19 A. Fantilli C 0 0 0 0 0 3 4 0 50% 16:40
24 M. Olivier R 1 0 1 +1 4 1 3 1 15:08
27 Z. Aston-Reese L 0 1 1 +1 0 0 4 1 12:48
38 B. Jenner C 0 1 1 0 0 3 0 0 60% 17:44
43 D. Heinen L 0 0 0 +1 0 0 1 0 08:51
86 K. Marchenko R 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 16:28
91 K. Johnson C 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 1 10:51
2 J. Christiansen D 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 11:22
5 D. Mateychuk D 1 1 2 +2 0 1 0 0 24:15
8 Z. Werenski D 0 2 2 +1 0 5 1 0 23:12
9 I. Provorov D 0 1 1 +3 4 3 0 1 25:32
15 D. Fabbro D 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 18:03
78 D. Severson D 0 2 2 +2 2 3 0 0 16:55
Columbus Blue Jackets goalies
Goalie
73 J. Greaves 33 32 1 .970 60:00 Win

Penalties

Period Time Team Player Infraction Minutes
1st 04:15 Columbus Blue Jackets Damon Severson Hooking 2
1st 09:08 Columbus Blue Jackets Mathieu Olivier Roughing 2
1st 09:08 Buffalo Sabres Josh Norris Roughing 2
1st 11:52 Buffalo Sabres Jacob Bryson Tripping 2
1st 13:41 Columbus Blue Jackets Kent Johnson Hooking 2
1st 18:01 Columbus Blue Jackets Mathieu Olivier Cross checking 2
2nd 19:40 Columbus Blue Jackets Dante Fabbro Slashing 2
3rd 10:36 Columbus Blue Jackets Ivan Provorov Holding 2
3rd 10:36 Buffalo Sabres Zach Benson Embellishment 2
3rd 14:33 Columbus Blue Jackets Ivan Provorov Interference 2

Game information

Buffalo Sabres head coach
Lindy Ruff
Columbus Blue Jackets head coach
Dean Evason
Referees
Francois St-Laurent, Cody Beach
Linesmen
Dylan Blujus, Brandon Gawryletz
Buffalo Sabres scratches
Alex Lyon, Michael Kesselring, Tyson Kozak
Columbus Blue Jackets scratches
Sean Monahan, Dysin Mayo

2025-2026 season series

Matchup Status Details
Columbus Blue Jackets 4 at Buffalo Sabres 3 Final/OT Game page
Buffalo Sabres 1 at Columbus Blue Jackets 5 Final Game page
Columbus Blue Jackets 0 at Buffalo Sabres 5 Final Game page

Other NHL games on Jan 3

Matchup Status Details
Pittsburgh Penguins 4 at Detroit Red Wings 1 Final Game page
Utah Mammoth 1 at New Jersey Devils 4 Final Game page
Philadelphia Flyers 5 at Edmonton Oilers 2 Final Game page
Montreal Canadiens 0 at St. Louis Blues 2 Final Game page
Tampa Bay Lightning 7 at San Jose Sharks 3 Final Game page
Winnipeg Jets 2 at Ottawa Senators 4 Final Game page
Toronto Maple Leafs 3 at New York Islanders 4 Final/OT Game page
Chicago Blackhawks 3 at Washington Capitals 2 Final/SO Game page
Colorado Avalanche 5 at Carolina Hurricanes 3 Final Game page
Nashville Predators 4 at Calgary Flames 3 Final Game page
Minnesota Wild 4 at Los Angeles Kings 5 Final/SO Game page
Boston Bruins 3 at Vancouver Canucks 2 Final/OT Game page

Sources and further reading

More schedules