Buffalo Sabres vs Columbus Blue Jackets — January 3, 2026 Game Stats

Game Recap

The Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the Buffalo Sabres 5-1 on January 3, 2026. Expected goals were closely matched at 5-on-5 (CBJ 7.71, BUF 8.27), making this a tightly contested game on both sides of the puck. The Buffalo Sabres created 11 high-danger scoring chances compared to 9 from the Columbus Blue Jackets at 5-on-5. Zach Benson was the most dangerous skater with 1.22 individual expected goals on 3 shots at 5-on-5. The Columbus Blue Jackets outshot the Buffalo Sabres 35-33 in total shots on goal.

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xG Gameflow — cumulative expected goals chart tracking each team's xG as Buffalo Sabres vs Columbus Blue Jackets progressed on Jan 3, 2026
Shot heatmap — where shots were taken on the ice, color-coded by scoring probability
Event timeline — every goal, penalty, and key play mapped chronologically
Player matchup grid — head-to-head on-ice performance in Corsi and expected goals
Strength filter — 5v5 by default, with options for power play, penalty kill, and all situations

BUF1 - 5CBJ

Jan 3, 2026 · Regular Season

Strength:

Overview

	Period	Corsi			Fenwick			Shots			SC			HDSC			xG			Goals
		F	A	%	F	A	%	F	A	%	F	A	%	F	A	%	F	A	%	F	A	%
CBJ	P1	21	25	45.7	16	20	44.4	13	10	56.5	15	17	46.9	5	7	41.7	4.57	5.71	44.5	3	1	75.0
	P2	27	25	51.9	18	20	47.4	14	11	56.0	18	17	51.4	3	4	42.9	2.79	3.28	46.0	1	0	100.0
	P3	18	31	36.7	15	26	36.6	8	12	40.0	12	14	46.2	3	5	37.5	2.70	4.14	39.5	1	0	100.0
	Total	66	81	44.9	49	66	42.6	35	33	51.5	45	48	48.4	11	16	40.7	10.06	13.12	43.4	5	1	83.3
BUF	P1	25	21	54.3	20	16	55.6	10	13	43.5	17	15	53.1	7	5	58.3	5.71	4.57	55.5	1	3	25.0
	P2	25	27	48.1	20	18	52.6	11	14	44.0	17	18	48.6	4	3	57.1	3.28	2.79	54.0	0	1	0.0
	P3	31	18	63.3	26	15	63.4	12	8	60.0	14	12	53.8	5	3	62.5	4.14	2.70	60.5	0	1	0.0
	Total	81	66	55.1	66	49	57.4	33	35	48.5	48	45	51.6	16	11	59.3	13.12	10.06	56.6	1	5	16.7

Win Probability

CBJ Favored

BUF Favored

Goal

Power Play

Gameflow — Cumulative xG

CBJ

BUF

Goal

Shot Density Heatmap

BUF Attempts

CBJ Attempts

Individual Event Map

Player:

BUF ShootCBJ Shoot

Shot on Net

Missed Shot

Attempt Blocked

Hit

Hit Taken

Giveaway

Player Matchup Grid

This grid shows how every skater on the home team (CBJ) performed against every skater on the away team (BUF) when they were on the ice at the same time.

Rows = CBJ players, Columns = BUF players. Forwards are listed first, then defensemen.
Green = the CBJ player had a favorable matchup (above 50%). Red = unfavorable (below 50%).
Values shown from the home team's perspective. Toggle between CF% (shot attempt share) and xGF% (expected goal share).
Cells with fewer than 3 shared events are grayed out (insufficient sample). Hover over any cell for full details.

Stat:

CBJ ↓ / BUF →	Thompson	Norris	McLeod	Ostlund	Krebs	Dunne	Benson	Malenstyn	Greenway	Doan	Tuch	Quinn	Byram	Dahlin	Power	Samuelsson	Bryson	Metsa
Jenner	60	67	24	60	59	50	33	50	100	58	43	42	47	65	48	48	71	71
Gaunce	30	19	47	20	50	50	41	0	0	24	50	38	53	20	54	29	38	38
Coyle	47	50	40	86	63	100	38	100	100	53	53	67	40	52	45	62	100	100
Fantilli	50	30	47	43	47	80	31	75	83	50	35	57	46	53	41	40	80	80
Johnson	25	20	54	20	56	50	58	0	50	0	57	36	50	0	50	29	44	50
Sillinger	60	22	33	67	100	83	17	86	83	33	25	50	59	50	56	33	50	43
Marchment	55	36	62	56	53	75	36	67	100	56	50	67	54	63	47	56	75	75
Aston-Reese	22	7	50	10	50	0	43	0	0	0	30	20	41	0	33	23	29	29
Heinen	71	100	25	67	100	75	60	75	75	67	25	60	63	100	57	100	50	40
Voronkov	50	100	50	75	100	78	50	75	71	50	40	67	70	100	63	100	60	56
Marchenko	58	30	44	56	50	86	29	83	83	58	33	60	50	55	47	44	80	80
Olivier	50	47	22	46	62	100	33	100	100	48	41	30	47	55	33	53	86	83
Provorov	56	22	32	33	64	67	25	71	83	52	37	32	43	50	35	50	63	57
Mateychuk	38	21	29	56	40	75	20	67	67	35	40	50	46	36	50	44	40	40
Werenski	48	44	33	64	38	83	31	75	75	44	42	33	39	52	45	41	55	55
Severson	71	50	42	41	86	80	56	83	100	82	36	55	59	83	44	69	83	80
Fabbro	22	36	44	54	42	33	37	0	50	23	50	44	50	20	44	15	62	62
Christiansen	20	100	53	33	67	67	71	50	67	40	13	55	88	20	50	33	67	67