At the Horn | Blue Jackets 6 - Sabres 3

The Buffalo Sabres dropped their season opener 6-3 to the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Thursday.

Mattias Samuelsson scored to give Buffalo an early lead, but Columbus swung the game in its favor with three goals in a 5:53 span late in the first period.

The Sabres twice pulled within one goal during the final two periods but never pushed across the equalizer. Their best chances came on two power plays – a full two minutes at 5-on-3 stemming from a fight between Zach Metsa and Mathieu Olivier, then another late man advantage that saw Jack Quinn slide a backhand shot off the far post.

Buffalo finished the night 0-for-5 with the extra man, though one of its goals – a tough-angle shot by Konsta Helenius – was scored seconds after a power play expired.

The Blue Jackets scored twice on the power play, the latter of which extended their lead to 5-3 with 5:39 remaining. Matthew Knies, acquired by Columbus from Toronto earlier in the week, led the way with two goals and an assist.

Quinn scored a goal for the Sabres along with Samuelsson and Helenius while Noah Ostlund and Owen Power had two assists each. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 16 saves.

Statistics

Scoring summary

BUF 1 – CBJ 0 | Period 1, 7:21 – Mattias Samuelsson (1) from Noah Ostlund (1) and Owen Power (1)

BUF 1 – CBJ 1 | Period 1, 12:51 – Cole Sillinger (1) from Charlie Coyle (1) and Denton Mateychuk (1)

BUF 1 – CBJ 2 | Period 1, 17:58 (PP) – Matthew Knies (1) from Charlie Coyle (2) and Zach Werenski (1)

BUF 1 – CBJ 3 | Period 1, 18:44 – Adam Fantilli (1) from Zach Werenski (2) and Matthew Knies (1)

BUF 2 – CBJ 3 | Period 2, 1:25 – Jack Quinn (1) from Zach Benson (1) and Noah Ostlund (2)

BUF 2 – CBJ 4 | Period 2, 7:45 – Matthew Knies (2) from Emil Andrae (1) and Kent Johnson (1)

BUF 3 – CBJ 4 | Period 2, 13:14 – Konsta Helenius (1) from Ryan McLeod (1) and Owen Power (2)

BUF 3 – CBJ 5 | Period 3, 14:21 (PP) – Sean Monahan (1) from Valeri Nichushkin (1) and Dmitri Voronkov (1)

BUF 3 – CBJ 6 | Period 3, 17:53 (EN) – Mathieu Olivier (1) from Charlie Coyle (3)

Up next

The Sabres host the Chicago Blackhawks for their home opener at KeyBank Center on Saturday. Limited tickets are still available.

There will be a party in Ticketmaster Alumni Plaza beginning at 3 p.m. with player entrances on the Blue and Gold Carpet beginning at 3:45. Find more information on the day here.