Colten Ellis stops 37 shots for first NHL career shutout in Sabres 5-0 win over Blue Jackets

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — 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.

Blue Jackets: At Montreal on Saturday night.

Sabres: At Chicago on Monday night.

This story has been corrected to reflect that Columbus has three games remaining.

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Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Jet Greaves (73) makes a save during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)

Buffalo Sabres goaltender Colten Ellis (92) makes a save during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)

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 Sabres goaltender Colten Ellis (92) makes a pad-save during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)

Buffalo Sabres center Peyton Krebs (19) celebrates his goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Columbus Blue Jackets Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)

NEW YORK (AP) — Matthew Schaefer of the New York Islanders tied the NHL record for goals by a rookie defenseman, scoring his 23rd of the season Thursday night to match Hall of Famer Brian Leetch's mark.

Schaefer's record-tying goal came at 9:39 of the second period and gave the Islanders a 3-2 lead over the Toronto Maple Leafs as New York went on to win 5-3. Schaefer beat goaltender Artur Akhtyamov through the legs following a pass from Tony DeAngelo.

“It’s crazy. You don’t really think about that stuff,” Schaefer said when asked how it feels to be mentioned alongside Leetch. “But obviously when it gets brought up it’s crazy to think. It’s definitely an honor to see some of those guys and what they’ve done.”

Schaefer, 18, continues to deliver one of the most remarkable rookie seasons by a player at his position in league history. He ranks second on the Islanders with 59 points, showcasing elite offensive ability from the blue line.

The goal was his first since March 21 against Montreal, ending a brief drought while adding another milestone to his growing resume.

“Watching him from the bench, live, it’s just, wow, what a player,” Peter DeBoer said of Schaefer after his first game as the Islanders' coach. “I watched him a lot on video as we were scouting for the Olympics. To see him live like that, at the age he’s at, and how dynamic he is, both ends of the rink, defensively, in particular. I know the offensive stuff, but for a young player how defensively aware he is and how much he works at the defensive piece of the game too. He’s a really, really special player.”

Selected first in the draft last year, Schaefer entered the league following an injury-shortened junior season but quickly made an impact. He became the youngest defenseman in NHL history to record a point in his debut and has since set multiple age-based records.

He's now one away from passing Leetch, who set the record in 1988-89 and won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year. Schaefer is the front-runner for the same honor.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

New York Islanders' Matthew Schaefer (48) celebrates with teammates Tony DeAngelo (77) andn Ondrej Palat (81) after scoring a goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Toronto Maple Leafs Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

New York Islanders right wing Simon Holmstrom is congratulated after scoring a goal by Matthew Schaefer (48) in the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Florida Panthers, Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)