Blue Jackets come out flat, allow three second-period goals in loss to Sabres

Friday, October 6, 2026
By Ed Francis
efrancis@cbussports.com

CBJ's Kent Johnson skates

Kent Johnson recorded his seventh straight game with a point, but the Columbus Blue Jackets fell at Buffalo 5-2 on Friday. Photo: Kevin Rouch

CBJ scorebug graphic

The Columbus Blue Jackets saw their brief, two-game winning streak come to an end Friday night, falling 5-2 to the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center.

Jack Quinn opened the scoring for Buffalo at 6:50 of the first, but Kent Johnson tied it at 1-1 for the Blue Jackets with four minutes remaining in the frame. Josh Norris restored the Sabres’ lead just over two minutes later, sending Buffalo into the first intermission ahead 2-1.

It was the first of two goals on the night for Norris. He was one of three Buffalo goalscorers in a span of less than seven minutes in the second period that put the game out of reach.

Rasmus Dahlin and Josh Doan were the others, giving Buffalo a 5-1 lead heading into the third.

Zach Werenski added a late power-play goal in the third to make it 5-2.

Johnson’s goal extended his point streak to seven games, while Werenski’s tally gave him goals in back-to-back games after a 13-game streak without a goal to start the season.

Forward Mathieu Olivier said the loss wasn’t the beginning of a streak, just a bad night.

“Our jump was off, our battle level was off a little bit, and that’s what ultimately cost us the game,” said Mathieu Olivier. “It’s not a trend, it’s not anything that is a thing, it’s just a simple compete and execution thing.”

Adding to the loss, center Sean Monahan exited late in the second period with a lower-body injury and did not return. Then, in the third period, winger Dmitri Voronkov left with an upper-body injury and did not return.

After the game, head coach Rick Bowness said both were still being evaluated.

Here’s how the Blue Jackets dipped back below .500:

BUF: 1, CBJ: 0 (1ST PERIOD, 13:10 REMAINING)

Quinn makes a great individual effort to get Buffalo on the board. He drives to the net with the puck and slips through traffic before getting a shot on net from near the right faceoff dot. Greaves makes the initial save but Quinn sticks with it, collects the rebound near the crease, and switches to his backhand before slipping the puck past Greaves to make it 1-0 Sabres.

BUF: 1, CBJ: 1 (1ST PERIOD, 4:00 REMAINING)

The Blue Jackets tie it on a good sequence by Monahan and Johnson. It starts with Johnson, who controls the puck just inside the zone before he plays it halfway around the boards to Monahan. He gathers it behind the net and then sees Johnson charging into the slot. Monahan makes a well-timed pass, allowing Johnson to beat Luukkonen glove-side to tie the game at 1-1.

BUF: 2, CBJ: 1 (1ST PERIOD, 1:50 REMAINING)

Late goals are deflating, and this one proved to be just that. With just under two minutes left in the first period, the Sabres get control of the puck in the neutral zone after an Adam Fantilli turnover and quickly get up ice 2-on-2. Norris considers making the pass but instead rips one from the left circle and past Greaves to give Buffalo a 2-1 lead.

BUF: 3, CBJ: 1 (2ND PERIOD, 15:30 REMAINING)

A huge slapshot from Dahlin extends the Buffalo lead. The Sabres are well-established in the zone and after a brief period of play along the boards, the puck ends up on the stick of Peyton Krebs. He makes a pass to Dahlin and he rips a 93mph shot from distance that beats Greaves and makes it a 3-1 game.

BUF: 4, CBJ: 1 (2ND PERIOD, 10:14 REMAINING)

Norris gets his second goal of the night as the Sabres go up three. The Blue Jackets are a bit out of sorts in the defensive zone and stay that way as Zach Benson gathers the puck behind the net. He flings it at the net and while that’s unsuccessful after deflecting off a skate, the puck bounces right to Norris, who’s waiting in the crease and flicks it home with a backhand to give Buffalo a 4-1 lead.

BUF: 5, CBJ: 1 (2ND PERIOD, 9:07 REMAINING)

More battles won by the Sabres in the offensive zone lead to another goal. This time Quinn wins it behind the net and skates to the right circle before quickly turning and firing. The initial save is made but the puck bounces around a bit, first off Werenski and then off the hand of Doan before falling into the net. The Blue Jackets challenge for goaltender interference, claiming Doan interfered with Greaves, but it’s unsuccessful and the Sabres go up 5-1.

BUF: 5, CBJ: 2 (3RD PERIOD, 1:39 REMAINING)

It’s not enough to do much, but Werenski gets a late goal on the power play to make it a bit more respectable. Johnson is set up at the right circle and Knies at the left, with Werenski between them at the point. They all touch the puck but it’s Werenski to touch it last, firing from the high slot and through traffic to get his second goal in as many nights and bring us to the 5-2 final.

QUICK THOUGHTS: As good as Tuesday and Thursday’s games were, this one was the complete opposite. They came out flat and stayed that way for almost the entire game, minus a small spurt late in the first period around the time Johnson got his goal. To be completely fair to them, this was their third game in four nights. That’s a tough stretch, but it’s no excuse. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a back-to-back. We’re playing to win a hockey game,” said Charlie Coyle.

One other thing: concern must be growing a bit for Greaves. His 32 saves were a lot, but on 37 shots it’s only an .865 save percentage and at least a couple of those he probably wants to have back.

NEXT UP: The Blue Jackets are off all weekend and Monday before taking Nationwide Arena ice on Tuesday night against the Florida Panthers. This one starts a little later than normal — a 7:30 p.m. puck-drop against the Cats.