BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Sabres return home Thursday night with the Atlantic Division lead still in hand and the standings tight enough that one game could matter in the first round. Buffalo hosts Columbus at 7 p.m. at KeyBank Center, coming off a 5-3 comeback win in New York on Wednesday and still looking for its first victory against the Blue Jackets this season.
Alex Tuch, Jason Zucker and Zach Benson scored as Buffalo erased a 3-2 deficit through two periods by outshooting the Rangers 8-1 in the third. It was the fourth time this season the Sabres won after trailing after 40 minutes, a sign they are not folding late even as the pressure rises. Tuch said Buffalo got back to its game in the third period, with simple, fast, direct hockey creating “a little chaos in front,” and Zucker pointed to the crowd, saying the fans have been incredible and that more home games would be better.
That matters now because Buffalo entered the final week with a two-point lead atop the Atlantic Division, and Tampa Bay and Montreal were scheduled to play each other Thursday. A regulation result in that game would help the Sabres’ chances of securing home-ice advantage in the opening round. Wednesday’s win also came with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in goal, while Colten Ellis was likely to start against Columbus after not starting since Feb. 3. Alex Lyon remained out for at least a week with a lower-body injury, and Jordan Greenway returned to the lineup after sitting out against the Rangers.
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Columbus arrives with some life after ending a six-game skid with a comeback win in Detroit on Tuesday, but the Blue Jackets still sat two points behind Ottawa for the second wild card spot. They also still had Buffalo’s number. The Sabres lost in overtime at home to Columbus in October, and their 10-game winning streak was snapped by a Jan. 3 loss at Nationwide Arena. Columbus was also scheduled to face Montreal, Boston and Washington after Buffalo, giving its playoff push a narrow lane through the final stretch.
The matchup is about more than a divisional game. Buffalo has not yet beaten Columbus, the only Eastern Conference team it has failed to beat this season, and Thursday offers one more chance to fix that before the postseason pressure fully lands. For the Sabres, the cleaner path is clear: keep winning at home, protect the division lead and make sure the final week ends with a game in KeyBank Center on their terms.
