Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Conor Garland (83) and Buffalo Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson (23) watch the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Rookie Colten Ellis stopped 37 shots for his first NHL career shutout, and the Buffalo Sabres beat Columbus 5-0 to dent the Blue Jackets’ playoff chances on Thursday night.

Josh Doan broke the game open with two third-period goals, while Peyton Krebs, Jack Quinn and Rasmus Dahlin also scored.

Buffalo (49-23-8) reached the 49-win mark for just the fourth time in team history, and maintained the Atlantic Division lead with a week left in the regular season.

Ellis improved to 8-4-1 while making his first start in more than two months. He got the start with Alex Lyon expected to miss at least a week with a strained lower-body muscle sustained in practice a day earlier.

Jet Greaves stopped 19 shots in dropping to 2-5-1 in his past eight starts.

The Blue Jackets failed to build off a 4-3 overtime win at Detroit on Tuesday, and dropped to 1-6-1 in their past eight. Columbus has just three games remaining and began the day sitting ninth in tightly contested Eastern Conference race in which three points separated eighth-place Ottawa and 12th-place Washington.

Krebs opened the scoring 13:41 in on a two-on-one set up by Josh Norris blocking Zach Werenski’s pass inside the blue line of Buffalo’s zone. Norris immediately fed Krebs, who drove up the right wing and snapped a shot that beat Greaves inside the far post.

The Sabres scored four times in the third, with Doan beginning the surge at the 7:19 mark. Doan stripped Charlie Coyle of the puck at the Columbus blue line, drove in alone and beat Greaves on the glove side.

Up next

Blue Jackets: At Montreal on Saturday night.

Sabres: At Chicago on Monday night.