COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Blue Jackets defeated the Buffalo Sabres Friday night, 4-2. With the win, the Jackets improved to 11-0-1 in their last 12 games to remain the hottest team in the NHL.
“I can’t say enough about the group of guys in here,” Columbus forward Nick Foligno said. “It’s been a disappointing season, let’s not forget that. I’m proud of how we handled adversity. We’ve been mature about it, professional about it.”
This disappointment is tempered with the fact that the club endured a litany of injuries that bordered on unprecendent3ed.
The loss assured the Sabres of the 30th spot in the league and will pick no worse than second spot in the NHL Entry Draft.
“It’s been frustrating, there’s no doubt about it,” Brian Gionta said. “Where we sit is not where we want to be. There’s a lot of corrections to be made, but you can’t dwell on the past. You have to look forward.”
With a healthy and repaired roster, the Jackets are formidable.
“It’s amazing when our whole team is healthy,” Columbus right wing Cam Atkinson said. “We’re a pretty good team. It’s too bad it’s at the end of the season that we’re doing this. We have a lot to look forward to throughout the summer and into next season.”
Atkinson, Boone Jenner, Nick Foligno, and Matt Calvert scored for Columbus.
Sergei Bobrovsky had 23 saves for the win.
Gionta and Mikhail Grigorenko scored for the Sabres.
Anders Lindback made 36 saves for Buffalo in the loss.
“When they turn it up it shows the difference in the skill set,” Sabres coach Ted Nolan said. “We’ve got a group of guys that work extremely hard but lack the experience at this level. You look at the other team and they’ve got some world-class players.”
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