Game Thread: Columbus Blue Jackets (12-18-7) at Buffalo Sabres (14-18-4) – 30 Dec 2023 – 5:00PM EST

[](/2023020556)

# Columbus [](/r/bluejackets) Blue Jackets (12-18-7) at Buffalo [](/r/sabres) Sabres (14-18-4)

#KeyBank Center

##Time

|PT|MT|CT|ET|AT|UTC|
|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|
|2:00PM|3:00PM|4:00PM|5:00PM|6:00PM|10:00PM|##Game Info:

|||
|:–:|:–:|
|TV|MSG-B, BSOH|
|Other|[Preview](https://www.nhl.com/news/columbus-blue-jackets-buffalo-sabres-game-preview-december-30) – [Boxscore](https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/2023020556/boxscore) – [Recap](https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/2023020556/recap)|
|GameCenter|[On NHL.com](https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/2023020556/playbyplay)|

[](/r/hockeymod)

##Projected Lineups

||Left|Center|Right||Left|Center|Right|
|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|
|[BUF](/r/sabres)|Jeff Skinner|Tage Thompson|Alex Tuch|[CBJ](/r/bluejackets)|Johnny Gaudreau|Adam Fantilli|Justin Danforth|
|[BUF](/r/sabres)|JJ Peterka|Dylan Cozens|Jack Quinn|[CBJ](/r/bluejackets)|Yegor Chinakhov|Dmitri Voronkov|Kirill Marchenko|
|[BUF](/r/sabres)|Jordan Greenway|Casey Mittelstadt|Zach Benson|[CBJ](/r/bluejackets)|Kent Johnson|Cole Sillinger|Emil Bemstrom|
|[BUF](/r/sabres)|Zemgus Girgensons|Peyton Krebs|Kyle Okposo|[CBJ](/r/bluejackets)|Alexandre Texier|Brendan Gaunce|Jack Roslovic|

||Left D|Right D||Left D|Right D|
|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|
|[BUF](/r/sabres)|Rasmus Dahlin|Mattias Samuelsson|[CBJ](/r/bluejackets)|Damon Severson|David Jiricek|
|[BUF](/r/sabres)|Owen Power|Ryan Johnson|[CBJ](/r/bluejackets)|Ivan Provorov|Andrew Peeke|
|[BUF](/r/sabres)|Erik Johnson|Connor Clifton|[CBJ](/r/bluejackets)|Jake Bean|Erik Gudbranson|

||Goalies||Goalies|
|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|
|[BUF](/r/sabres)|Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen|[CBJ](/r/bluejackets)|Daniil Tarasov|
|[BUF](/r/sabres)|Devon Levi|[CBJ](/r/bluejackets)|Spencer Martin|

[Source](https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/buffalo-sabres/line-combinations/), [Source](https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/columbus-blue-jackets/line-combinations/)

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##Injuries

||Player|Date|Injury|Status|Details|Return|
|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|
|[BUF](/r/sabres)|None|
|–|–|–|–|–|–|–|
|[CBJ](/r/bluejackets)|Elvis Merzlikins|29 Dec 2023|Illness|DTD|Merzlikins will be between the home pipes versus Toronto on Friday, according to Columbus beat reporter Coby Maeir.|unknown|
|[CBJ](/r/bluejackets)|Zach Werenski|27 Dec 2023|Ankle|IR|Werenski (lower body) has been placed on injured reserve, per the NHL media site.|04 Jan 2024|
|[CBJ](/r/bluejackets)|Sean Kuraly|23 Dec 2023|Abdomen|OUT|Kuraly (abdomen) will not play versus Toronto on Friday or in Buffalo on Saturday, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports.|02 Jan 2024|
|[CBJ](/r/bluejackets)|Nick Blankenburg|21 Dec 2023|Upper Body|IR|Blankenburg was placed on injured reserve Saturday, retroactive to Dec. 19.|02 Jan 2024|
|[CBJ](/r/bluejackets)|Patrik Laine|14 Dec 2023|Collarbone|IR|Laine (fractured clavicle) was placed on injured reserve Monday.|27 Jan 2024|
|[CBJ](/r/bluejackets)|Boone Jenner|08 Dec 2023|Jaw|IR|Jenner is expected to miss six weeks after suffering a fractured jaw Friday against the St. Louis Blues. He was placed on injured reserve Saturday.|19 Jan 2024|
|[CBJ](/r/bluejackets)|Adam Boqvist|06 Dec 2023|Shoulder|IR|Strain|04 Jan 2024|

[Source](https://puckpedia.com/team/buffalo-sabres/injuries), [Source](https://puckpedia.com/team/columbus-blue-jackets/injuries)

##Team Stats

|Team|GP|W|L|OT|P|P%|GF/G|GA/G|PP%|PK%|SF/G|SA/G|FO%|
|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|
|[BUF](/r/sabres)|36|14|18|4|32|0.444|2.97|3.44|13.33|78.26|30.08|29.64|45.90|
|[CBJ](/r/bluejackets)|37|12|18|7|31|0.419|3.16|3.68|15.53|80.77|29.54|34.16|47.49|

[Source](https://api.nhle.com/stats/rest/en/team/summary?isAggregate=false&isGame=false&sort=[{“property”:”points”,”direction”:”DESC”},{“property”:”wins”,”direction”:”DESC”}]&start=0&limit=50&factCayenneExp=gamesPlayed>=0&cayenneExp=gameTypeId=2 and seasonId<=20232024 and seasonId>=20232024)

##Team Leaders

|Stat||Player|Value||Player|Value|
|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|
|G|[BUF](/r/sabres)|Jeff Skinner|14|[CBJ](/r/bluejackets)|Kirill Marchenko, Boone Jenner|13|
|A|[BUF](/r/sabres)|Casey Mittelstadt|21|[CBJ](/r/bluejackets)|Zach Werenski|24|
|P|[BUF](/r/sabres)|Casey Mittelstadt|30|[CBJ](/r/bluejackets)|Johnny Gaudreau, Zach Werenski|25|
|+/-|[BUF](/r/sabres)|Casey Mittelstadt, JJ Peterka|7|[CBJ](/r/bluejackets)|Kirill Marchenko|5|
|PIM|[BUF](/r/sabres)|Connor Clifton|44|[CBJ](/r/bluejackets)|Erik Gudbranson|49|
|TOI|[BUF](/r/sabres)|Rasmus Dahlin|25:02|[CBJ](/r/bluejackets)|Zach Werenski|24:04|

[Source](https://api.nhle.com/stats/rest/en/skater/summary?isAggregate=false&isGame=false&sort=[{“property”:”points”,”direction”:”DESC”},{“property”:”goals”,”direction”:”DESC”}]&start=0&limit=100&factCayenneExp=gamesPlayed>=1&cayenneExp=teamId=7 and gameTypeId=2 and seasonId<=20232024 and seasonId>=20232024), [Source](https://api.nhle.com/stats/rest/en/skater/summary?isAggregate=false&isGame=false&sort=[{“property”:”points”,”direction”:”DESC”},{“property”:”goals”,”direction”:”DESC”}]&start=0&limit=100&factCayenneExp=gamesPlayed>=1&cayenneExp=teamId=29 and gameTypeId=2 and seasonId<=20232024 and seasonId>=20232024)

##In-Game Updates

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The bot can only be as correct as its sources, the sources it uses are linked below each table. If you notice an error that is not due to an incorrect source or you want to suggest a source [click here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=TeroTheTerror&subject=HockeyMod Issue&message=Subreddit:%0A%0AIssue:) to message TeroTheTerror.

by HockeyMod