Final
BUF at CBJ game report
Thursday, October 1, 2026 · 7:00 p.m. ET · Nationwide Arena
Blue Jackets beat the Sabres 6–3 despite being out-chanced 2.8–2.2 in expected goals and 7–6 in high-danger chances. Finishing made the difference.
Team comparison
- 6Goals3
- 2.22Expected goals2.84
- 1.445-on-5 expected goals1.72
- 6High-danger chances7
- 23Shots on goal26
- 39Shot attempts56
- 295-on-5 shot attempts40
- 2:53Power-play time6:54
5-on-5 shares for CBJ: 42.0% of shot attempts, 45.6% of expected goals.
Expected goals leave out shots at an empty net (CBJ 0.55, BUF 0.00); they're in the “Other” row of By strength.
Expected goals through the game
Each step is a shot; the bigger the step, the better the chance. A goal on a small step was a low-percentage finish. Shots at an empty net add no step.
Shot map
By strength
| CBJ at… | Time | Attempts | xG | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 on 5 | 46:58 | 29–40 | 1.44–1.72 | 3–2 |
| Power play | 2:53 | 7–14 | 0.65–0.94 | 2–0 |
| Shorthanded | 6:54 | 1–1 | 0.05–0.09 | 0–0 |
| Other (4 on 4, 3 on 3, empty net) | 3:15 | 2–1 | 0.64–0.09 | 1–1 |
Read pairs as CBJ–BUF. “Power play” means CBJ had the extra skater.
Goaltending
| Goalie | Saves | SV% | xGA | GSAx |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jet Greaves CBJ | 23/26 | .885 | 2.84 | -0.16 |
| Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen BUF | 17/22 | .773 | 2.22 | -2.78 |
GSAx above zero means the goalie stopped more than an average goalie would have, given the shots faced.
Player ratings
Out of 10, from each player's Game Score (goals, assists, shots, blocks, penalties, faceoffs and 5-on-5 shot and goal differential while on the ice) compared with every NHL game of the last two seasons. 6 is above average, 7 very good, 8 excellent. Goalies are rated on goals saved above expected. ★ = top three of the night. How ratings work
Average ratingBlue Jackets6.2Sabres6.1
| ★Top three of the night: Matthew KniesFCBJ | 8.5 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 16:06 | 39.1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ★Top three of the night: Charlie CoyleFCBJ | 8.2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 19:04 | 40.0 |
| ★Top three of the night: Noah OstlundFBUF | 8.2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 16:42 | 71.4 |
| Jack QuinnFBUF | 7.9 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 20:46 | 75.0 |
| Owen PowerDBUF | 7.9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 25:25 | 59.4 |
| Zach WerenskiDCBJ | 7.3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 28:46 | 37.1 |
| Zach BensonFBUF | 7.2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 18:34 | 71.4 |
| Adam FantilliFCBJ | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 17:28 | 46.2 |
| Mathieu OlivierFCBJ | 6.6 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 14:32 | 42.9 |
| Josh NorrisFBUF | 6.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16:19 | 69.6 |
| Cole SillingerFCBJ | 6.5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 15:21 | 45.5 |
| Konsta HeleniusFBUF | 6.5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 15:09 | 31.3 |
| Sean MonahanFCBJ | 6.4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 15:31 | 28.6 |
| Josh DoanFBUF | 6.4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 19:06 | 68.0 |
| Tage ThompsonFBUF | 6.3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 19:46 | 70.8 |
| Denton MateychukDCBJ | 6.3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 27:28 | 46.7 |
| Ryan McLeodFBUF | 6.2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16:41 | 33.3 |
| Dmitri VoronkovFCBJ | 6.1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10:44 | 40.0 |
| Emil AndraeDCBJ | 6.1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15:37 | 33.3 |
| Rasmus DahlinDBUF | 6.1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 25:58 | 60.0 |
| Valeri NichushkinFCBJ | 6.1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15:45 | 22.2 |
| Louis CrevierDBUF | 6.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16:14 | 60.9 |
| Mattias SamuelssonDBUF | 5.9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 18:21 | 53.8 |
| Kent JohnsonFCBJ | 5.8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 14:53 | 41.7 |
| Zach MetsaDBUF | 5.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12:54 | 61.5 |
| Danton HeinenFCBJ | 5.7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12:11 | 47.1 |
| Jet GreavesGCBJ | 5.7 | 0 | 0 | — | 60:00 | — |
| Jake ChristiansenDCBJ | 5.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7:05 | 58.3 |
| Erik GudbransonDCBJ | 5.4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17:44 | 47.4 |
| Ryan LombergFCBJ | 5.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9:21 | 50.0 |
| Carson SoucyDCBJ | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 20:15 | 38.9 |
| Conor GarlandFCBJ | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12:09 | 42.1 |
| Matt GrzelcykDBUF | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14:27 | 46.2 |
| Beck MalenstynFBUF | 4.9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8:11 | 42.9 |
| Jiri KulichFBUF | 4.9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8:45 | 50.0 |
| Peyton KrebsFBUF | 4.8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14:58 | 29.4 |
| Sam CarrickFBUF | 4.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7:43 | 37.5 |
| Ukko-Pekka LuukkonenGBUF | 4.5 | 0 | 0 | — | 59:08 | — |
Lines used
Each team's most-used forward lines and defence pairs at 5 on 5, from the NHL's shift charts · time together · shot attempts for–against · expected goals for–against
Blue Jackets
Forward lines
- Coyle – Olivier – Sillinger10:26 · 8–10 · xG 0.6–0.7
- Johnson – Knies – Fantilli10:17 · 8–13 · xG 0.3–0.4
- Monahan – Nichushkin – Voronkov6:45 · 0–1 · xG 0.0–0.1
- Heinen – Garland – Lomberg6:28 · 6–6 · xG 0.2–0.3
Defence pairs
- Werenski – Mateychuk14:57 · 11–13 · xG 0.6–0.8
- Soucy – Andrae8:45 · 3–5 · xG 0.1–0.1
- Gudbranson – Christiansen5:44 · 6–5 · xG 0.1–0.2
Sabres
Forward lines
- Quinn – Ostlund – Benson11:13 · 13–5 · xG 0.5–0.2
- Thompson – Norris – Doan10:19 · 15–6 · xG 0.8–0.3
- McLeod – Krebs – Helenius9:57 · 3–11 · xG 0.1–0.6
- Carrick – Malenstyn – Kulich6:00 · 3–4 · xG 0.1–0.2
Defence pairs
- Samuelsson – Dahlin13:03 · 13–9 · xG 0.6–0.6
- Crevier – Power10:19 · 12–7 · xG 0.7–0.2
- Grzelcyk – Metsa8:12 · 5–4 · xG 0.1–0.1
Three stars
- ★M. KniesCBJ · 2G 1A
- ★★Z. WerenskiCBJ · 0G 2A
- ★★★C. CoyleCBJ · 0G 3A
Scoring
Period 1
- 07:21BUF M. Samuelsson (from N. Ostlund, O. Power)1–0
- 12:51CBJ C. Sillinger (from C. Coyle, D. Mateychuk)1–1
- 17:58CBJ M. Knies pp (from C. Coyle, Z. Werenski)1–2
- 18:44CBJ A. Fantilli (from Z. Werenski, M. Knies)1–3
Period 2
- 01:25BUF J. Quinn (from Z. Benson, N. Ostlund)2–3
- 07:45CBJ M. Knies (from E. Andrae, K. Johnson)2–4
- 13:14BUF K. Helenius (from R. McLeod, O. Power)3–4
Period 3
- 14:21CBJ S. Monahan pp (from V. Nichushkin, D. Voronkov)3–5
- 17:53CBJ M. Olivier (from C. Coyle)3–6