Record winning streak in reach as Sabres visit Blue Jackets

The Buffalo Sabres will look to set a franchise record with their 11th straight win when they visit the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.

Buffalo extended its winning streak to 10 games on Wednesday with a dominant effort in a 4-1 win over the Dallas Stars. It's the fourth time in Sabres history that the club has had 10 straight wins and the first since Nov. 8-27, 2018.

"When you're winning games in a row, it's pretty easy to kind of just expect to win. I think we don't have that right now," center Tage Thompson said. "We're just one game at a time, one day at a time. So, exciting to win 10 in a row. Now, we've got to get ready for Columbus."

Thompson, who was named Friday to the United States' 2026 Olympic roster, starred in the Sabres' latest victory with two goals and an assist. Buffalo fell behind 15 seconds in but grabbed the lead with a pair of second-period goals. Thompson scored twice just over two minutes apart in the third to ice the game.

"It's a lot of fun when you're winning," Thompson said. "Obviously, we're riding a little high right now, but at the same time, I think we've done a pretty good job after a win of coming down to Earth and making sure we're ready for the next game. That's kind of how we got on this roll -- making sure we're doing the right things every game."

The Sabres have remained even-keeled within the games themselves. Whether opening the scoring or allowing the first goal, leading or trailing, their mindset and focus remain the same.

"We've just got a lot of confidence right now no matter what the score is," defenseman Bowen Byram said. "We just try to keep playing the same way."

Columbus hopes to bounce back from squandering a two-goal lead Wednesday in a 3-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils, who scored all their goals in the opening 4:45 of the third period.

That snapped the Blue Jackets' second winning streak of three-plus games this season.

"Honestly, I thought we deserved better," defenseman Dante Fabbro said. "We've got to get points somehow. To (allow) three goals in less than five minutes is unacceptable and, at some point, we've got to try and stop that kind of bleeding and then push back a little bit. ... We need results."

Entering Friday, the Blue Jackets were in last place in the Eastern Conference and trailed the Sabres by six points for the final wild-card spot.

Columbus should receive a boost with the return of defenseman Zach Werenski. The American Olympian confirmed Friday that he would be back in the lineup after missing four games with a lower-body injury.

Werenski leads the team with 40 points and his 14 goals are tied with forward Kirill Marchenko for the top spot.

The Blue Jackets ruled out forward Miles Wood and defenseman Brendan Smith on a week-to-week basis with lower-body injuries. Forward Danton Heinen was recalled from the American Hockey League after being acquired Monday in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins.