Columbus Blue Jackets @ Buffalo Sabers: Season 26 Game 15 Recap

Last night at Nationwide Arena, our Columbus Blue Jackets celebrated Hockey Fights Cancer Night 2026 and a shootout win against the Dallas Stars, 4-3. They then hopped on a plane to Buffalo for their second game in two days against the Sabers. The Sabers were looking for a win, wanting to bounce back after losing 2-1 against the Ottawa Senators in their last game. Tonight was also Hockey Fights Cancer Night 2026, and they didn't take it easy on the Blue Jackets, aiming for a big win for their special crowd. 

The Sabers would score the first goal of the night. Jack Quinn added his ninth goal this season at 6:50 into the first period. Owen Power would enter double digits in assists, earning his tenth on the primary, while Conor Timmins would earn his first assist of the season on the secondary. Kent Johnson would tie the game at 16:00 with his eighth goal this season! Sean Monahan would pick up his fifth assist of the season on the primary, and Denton Mateychuck would add his third assist this season on the secondary. Unfortunately, seconds later, Josh Norris would snatch back the lead for the Sabers with his third goal of the season. Owen Power would add his second assist of the night, his eleventh this season, with the only assist on this goal. The opening period would conclude with the Sabers leading 2-1. The Sabers also doubled the Blue Jackets' shots on goal this period, 14-7. 

The Sabers would run away with this game in period 2. Rasmus Dahlin would add his third goal of the season at 4:30, giving his team a 3-1 lead. Payton Krebs picks up his eighth assist this season on the primary, and Owen Power would add his third assist tonight, his twelfth this season on the secondary. Josh Norris would add a goal to his assist in period 1 at 9:46, and this would become his fourth goal of the season. Zach Benson gains his thirteenth assist this season on the primary, and Tage Thompson gets his ninth assist this season on the secondary. The Sabers would go up 5-1 after Josh Doan scored his third goal of the season at 10:53. Noah Ostlund adds his sixth assist this season on the primary, while J Quinn adds his seventh this season on the secondary. The Blue Jackets would challenge the Sabers' fifth goal of the night, but would lose that challenge. Thankfully, we would kill off the delay-of-game penalty for losing that challenge. The period would end with the Sabers 5-1 lead. The Sabers dominated shots on goal this period, 19-11. 

It's worth noting that Sean Monahan, who picked up an assist in period 1, left the game in period 2. He blocked a shot and left the ice immediately after. He was ruled out for the remainder of the game before period 3 began. I hope wish him the best as CBJ Public Relations on X stated it was a 'Lower Body Injury'. 

Sabers' Tyson Kozak would get a late penalty for tripping Dante Fabbro at 16:43. On this power play, Zach Werenski would score his second goal of the season at 18:21. Matthew Knies would add his fifth assist this season on the primary, while Kent Johnson would pick up his second point of the night, adding his eighth assist this season on the secondary. The comeback would end there, however, and the Blue Jackets fall to the Sabers, 5-2. The Blue Jackets led shots on goal in the final period, 8-4. 

After an awkward collision in period 3, Dimitri Voronkov also left the game. He didn't return. Rick Bowness said it's an 'Upper Body Injury' in postgame, but nothing more. I wish him the best, too. 

The Third Star of the Game was Josh Norris, who had a 2-0-2 night. 

The Second Star of the Game was Ukko-Pekka Lukkonen. The Sabers goalie had a .923 save percentage after he stopped 24 of our 26 shots on his net.

The First Star of the Game was one of the Hockey Fights Cancer guests, Eddie Golden, and I love when the league does this. It isn't official in the app, but it was in the final post of Three Stars of the Game by the Sabers.  

Our next game will be back at home on Tuesday when we will host the Florida Panthers. The puck will drop at 7:30 p.m., and the game will be shown on ESPN as a national game. I will be attending for my 32nd birthday, so my recap will be posted late or the following day.  

Go CBJ!     


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