Columbus, Ohio (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Sabres' 10-game winning streak came to a halt on Saturday, as the Columbus Blue Jackets downed Buffalo, 5-1, at Nationwide Arena.
Things got off an inauspicious start for the Sabres, as they gave up three first-period goals while only scoring one.
Columbus' goal-scorers in the first were defenseman Denton Mateychuk, and forwards Brendan Gaunce and Dmitri Voronkov.
After surrendering the opening goal, the Sabres responded with Josh Norris connecting with Josh Doan with a slick pass at the side of the Blue Jackets' net.
However, Gaunce's goal was a back-breaker for the Sabres, as it was a shorthanded marker. With the game tied 1-1, Tage Thompson lost an edge at the blue line and allowed Gaunce to skate in alone on Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen for a five-hole goal on the breakaway.
In the second period, the Sabres dialed up the pressure on the Blue Jackets, but the only goal of the stanza belonged to Columbus.
About eight minutes in, forward Mathieu Olivier was able to tip-toe through a trio of defenders before he beat Luukkonen with a backhand shot.
It was much of the same song as the game rolled into the third period. Columbus continued to envelope chances, and any fire the defense wasn't able to put out, goalie Jet Greaves stood tall time-and-time again.
Running out of time in regulation, Luukkonen was waved to the bench with about nine minutes to play in regulation, as the Sabres still trailed by three. Less than a minute later, forward Cole Sillinger made it a 5-1 contest with an empty-net tally.
The loss put an end to the Sabres' 10-game winning streak, which had tied a franchise record with three other occurrences for longest such win streaks in team history.
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SCORING RECAP
First Period:
BUF: 11:56 - Josh Doan (12) (Josh Norris, Owen Power)
CBJ: 3:00 - Denton Mateychuk (8) (Boone Jenner, Zach Werenski); 14:04 - Brendan Gaunce (2) SHG (Unassisted); 17:12 - Dmitri Voronkov (14) (Ivan Provorov, Damon Severson)
Second Period:
BUF: NONE
CBJ: 8:04 - Mathieu Olivier (4) (Zach Aston-Reese, Damon Severson)
Third Period:
BUF: NONE
CBJ: 11:46 - Cole Sillinger (5) ENG (Denton Mateychuk, Zach Werenski)
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Blue Star Home Services Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Jet Greaves - CBJ
2.) Denton Mateychuk - CBJ
3.) Brendan Gaunce - CBJ
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What's next:
The Sabres look to start a new winning streak on Tuesday when they return home to host the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday. Puck drop at KeyBank Center is set for 7 p.m. with Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray on the call.