The Blue Jackets win 5th straight as Bobrovsky makes 38 saves to blank Buffalo.
By Heather Engel / NHL.com Correspondent
BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Columbus Blue Jackets hold the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference following a 4-0 win against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Sunday.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 38 saves for his NHL-leading ninth shutout for Columbus (45-30-4), which has won five in a row and moved one point ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes for the first wild card. Carolina lost 3-1 at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday.
Pierre-Luc Dubois had a goal and two assists, Nick Foligno had a goal and an assist, and Ryan Dzingel had two assists for the Blue Jackets.
Columbus has outscored its opponents 24-4 during the five-game winning streak.
Linus Ullmark made 32 saves for Buffalo (31-38-10), which lost its seventh straight (0-6-1) and was shut out for the second time in its past four games.
Dubois gave the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead when he redirected Seth Jones’ shot from the top of the circle at 7:14 of the first period.
Oliver Bjorkstrand extended his goal streak to five games when he one-timed Dubois’ pass at 13:46 to make it 2-0.
Foligno scored on a wraparound that went off Sabres defenseman Brandon Montour’s stick to give the Blue Jackets a 3-0 lead at 17:47 of the first period.
Josh Anderson capitalized on a 2-on-1 with a shot from the left circle to make it 4-0 at 15:31 of the second.
Up next
The Sabres play host to the Nashville Preditors on Tuesday at 7 pm.