The Blue Jackets fell to 1-2 in the preseason as Buffalo rallied to a 2-1 victory Tuesday night at KeyBank Center.
Game in a Paragraph
Columbus’ third preseason game in as many days – and first road contest – saw the Blue Jackets hang in against some of the Sabres’ top players, but Buffalo was able to get the winner in the final 10 minutes and hold on. The Blue Jackets notched a power-play goal to take a 1-0 lead in the second, but the Sabres battled back and got the home win.
CBJ Standouts
- Playing in his first preseason contest with the Blue Jackets, Miles Wood notched the lone CBJ goal and had a team-high five shots on goal.
- One of the defensemen in the mix for a roster spot, Daemon Hunt, had the primary assist on Wood’s tally and played a team-best 25:35.
- Ivan Fedotov turned in another solid preseason showing, stopping 24 of 25 Buffalo shots.
Quote of the Game
Wood: "It's been great so far. I've been here for two weeks now, and I just love the team, I love the guys, I love the staff. It was great just to get back in the game reads there. It's unfortunate that we lost, but it was just good to skate out there with some new teammates and it's been fun."
How It Happened
There wasn’t much in the way of scoring chances for either squad in the opening frame, and the teams went back to the locker room in a 0-0 game after 20 minutes. Columbus had a 12-10 edge in shots on goal, though Fedotov probably had to make the better saves as Buffalo had a pair of power-play chances in the period.
The second period featured much more action, most of it in the Buffalo offensive end as the Sabres had a 14-2 edge in shots on goal, yet it was a 1-1 game after the frame. Columbus’ first shot on goal of the period at 8:37 went in, as on the power play, Hunt looked off a defenseman and fired a shot from the right point that Wood tipped past goalie Alex Lyon. On the other side, Fedotov was good throughout the frame – including a breakaway stop on Jason Zucker – but was finally bested with 2:06 left when an excellent against-the-grain pass from behind the net by Zach Benson found Thompson for the finish.
Zach Sawchenko came in for the third period in the CBJ net and stopped eight shots, but the Sabres got the winner with 8:03 to go. Buffalo pinned the Jackets in the defensive zone, aided by a big hit by Dahlin, and the Sabres took advantage as they got the puck to the net and Zucker was there to chip a fanned shot attempt by Konsta Helenius past Sawchenko. The CBJ goalie made a sterling save two minutes later, using his stick to stop a rebound chance by Tyson Kozak, but the Jackets couldn’t get the equalizer with the net empty.
Notable
Columbus was outshot 34-19, in part because the Blue Jackets lost 35 of 52 faceoffs. ... Ryland Mosley had four shots on goal and four hits for the Jackets. ... Fedotov has now stopped 38 of 40 shots (.950 save percentage) in two preseason contests. ... Thompson and Dahlin led Buffalo with six shots on goal apiece.
Roster Report
Here is the roster the Blue Jackets used for the contest. The game marked the preseason debut of Wood, who was acquired in an offseason trade with Colorado.
Up Next
The Blue Jackets are right back at it Wednesday night, playing preseason game No. 4 as they welcome Pittsburgh to Nationwide Arena. The game will be streamed on BlueJackets.com and the CBJ app and broadcast on 97.1 The Fan.
