Eichel and Buffalo take on Columbus
Columbus Blue Jackets (30-17-10, fourth in the Metropolitan Division) vs. Buffalo Sabres (25-24-8, sixth in the Atlantic Division)
Buffalo, New York; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Jack Eichel and Buffalo take on Columbus. Eichel currently ranks sixth in the NHL with 70 points, scoring 31 goals and recording 39 assists.
The Sabres are 14-15-5 against Eastern Conference opponents. Buffalo has given up 41 power-play goals, killing 74.8% of opponent chances.
The Blue Jackets are 10-5-3 against opponents from the Metropolitan Division. Columbus has converted on 16.6% of power-play opportunities, recording 27 power-play goals.
In their last meeting on Feb. 1, Buffalo won 2-1.
TOP PERFORMERS: Eichel leads the Sabres with 70 points, scoring 31 goals and adding 39 assists. Sam Reinhart has totaled five goals and three assists over the last 10 games for Buffalo.
Pierre-Luc Dubois has collected 43 total points while scoring 17 goals and totaling 26 assists for the Blue Jackets. Oliver Bjorkstrand has six goals and one assist over the last 10 games for Columbus.
LAST 10 GAMES: Blue Jackets: 7-1-2, averaging 2.4 goals, 3.2 assists, 2.2 penalties and 5.4 penalty minutes while giving up 1.5 goals per game with a .948 save percentage.
Sabres: 4-5-1, averaging 2.2 goals, 3.4 assists, 2.4 penalties and five penalty minutes while giving up 2.5 goals per game with a .916 save percentage.
INJURIES: Sabres: Kyle Okposo: out (upper body).
Blue Jackets: Cam Atkinson: day to day (undisclosed), Joonas Korpisalo: out (lower body), Alexander Wennberg: out (upper body).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.