Blue Jackets rally in third period to edge Sabres

The Columbus Blue Jackets scored twice in less than three minutes in the third period to rally for a 3-2 win against the visiting Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.

James van Riemsdyk, Zach Aston-Reese and Boone Jenner scored for the Blue Jackets (36-32-9, 81 points), who have won two in a row and after a three-game skid. Jet Greaves made 39 saves.

JJ Peterka and Rasmus Dahlin scored, and James Reimer made 27 saves for the Sabres (35-37-6, 76 points), who had their five-game winning streak snapped. Reimer had won seven straight starts.

Up 2-1 after the first period, Buffalo pushed in the second, outshooting Columbus 18-7, but couldn't get one past Greaves.

The hosts pressed in the third and were rewarded.

Aston-Reese tied it 2-2 four minutes into the period when he intercepted Peterka's pass and got above the slot for a wrist shot that went high glove side on Reimer.

Jenner then gave the Blue Jackets their first lead of the game on the power play at 6:42. Kirill Marchenko took a pass from Sean Monahan along the wall to the slot for a shot, and Jenner whacked at the loose puck in the crease to make it 3-2.

Peterka gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead at 11:54 of the first period. Peterka took a short feed from Ryan McLeod in the neutral zone and carried it up to the left circle, where he wired a wrist shot that beat Greaves bar down far side.

Dahlin increased it to 2-0 at 14:39. Zach Benson got a piece of the puck in the slot and fed it to Dahlin in the left circle, and the Buffalo captain quickly put it past Greaves on the glove side.

Columbus capitalized on a turnover to cut the deficit in half with 8.1 seconds remaining in the frame. Kent Johnson intercepted Tage Thompson's pass in the Blue Jackets' zone and lifted a backhand for van Riemsdyk, who got behind the Buffalo defense for a breakaway, beating Reimer on the backhand to cut it to 2-1.

--Field Level Media