Norris strikes twice as Sabres pull away from Blue Jackets 5-2
Four goals in a span of two periods — and a survived coach's challenge — sent Buffalo to a fourth win in five games.
The Buffalo Sabres keep finding ways to stack wins, and Friday's 5-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets at KeyBank Center was one of their most complete of the season. Josh Norris scored twice, Rasmus Dahlin added the goal that broke the game open, and Buffalo has now won four of its last five to sit at 8-5-3, per NHL.com's game recap.
How it unfolded
Jack Quinn opened the scoring at 6:50 of the first period. Kent Johnson answered for Columbus at 16:00, but Norris restored the lead just over two minutes later with a 4-on-4 goal at 18:10 — and Buffalo never trailed again.
The second period was where it tipped. Dahlin one-timed home a feed from Peyton Krebs at 4:30 for a 3-1 lead, Norris buried his second at 9:46 off a Zach Benson assist, and Noah Ostlund made it 5-1 barely a minute later at 10:53 on a shot that deflected in off a leg in the crease. Columbus challenged Ostlund's goal for goaltender interference; video review upheld it.
Zach Werenski's power-play goal at 18:21 of the third — his second goal in as many games — was all Columbus could salvage. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 24 saves for Buffalo, while Jet Greaves stopped 32 in the Columbus net.
The turning point, by Columbus's own admission
Blue Jackets coach Rick Bowness pointed squarely at Dahlin's goal. His team had "a lot of great looks" that didn't go in, he said, and then: "they get that third goal, and I don't like how we responded after that."
What it means
Columbus falls to 7-8-0 and sees a two-game winning streak end despite a goal and an assist from Johnson. For Buffalo, the formula — scoring depth across three lines plus timely goaltending — is starting to look repeatable rather than lucky.