The Blue Jackets came out of a strong stretch with a lineup shuffle and a pair of AHL call-ups, then ran straight into a Buffalo team that had more pace from the opening shift and never really let go.
Buffalo set the tone early with pressure and an early power play after Severson “tripped” Benson near the crease when a puck jumped his stick. Columbus killed that chance, but the Sabres still struck first when Jack Quinn cleaned up a rebound from his own walk-in attempt. The rebound sat in a dangerous spot, though Fabbro did get his stick involved and kept Jet from pushing across the crease.
Columbus settled in enough to answer midway through the period. Kent Johnson kept his hot start rolling at the 16-minute mark, carrying the puck high in the zone before slipping it down low to Monahan. Monahan handled it well and timed the return feed perfectly, setting Johnson up for a near-side one-timer to tie it at 1-1.
The Jackets then got a 4-on-4 sequence after Garland interfered with Benson near the blue line, with Benson also getting nailed for embellishment. But Buffalo turned a later Columbus miscue into another lead. Mateychuk tried to spring Fantilli in the neutral zone, the puck bounced off his stick, and the Sabres quickly converted the turnover into an odd-man rush finished by Norris.
The period ended with another Severson trip, this one after he got caught reaching in the neutral zone following a poor keep-in attempt from Z.
Columbus survived most of that penalty kill to open the second period, then briefly had a chance of its own when Buffalo was flagged for too many men on the ice. The Jackets generated a few looks, including a Coyle chance off a cross-slot pass from Knies, but they couldn’t cash in.
Buffalo did, though, with Rasmus Dahlin blasting one from the blue line past Greaves shortly after the power play. Jody wasn’t sure whether Sillinger’s stick got a piece of it on the way through.
The game started slipping away from there. Buffalo worked the puck behind the net on a Tage line shift, Benson slipped it to the front, and Norris buried his second of the night.
A minute later, Josh Doan scored on a goal that drew a challenge from Bowness for goaltender interference after Ostlund’s puck bounced off Doan and in with Greaves at least partly contacted in the crease. The officials kept the goal on the board and added a delay of game minor to Columbus.
That sequence put the Jackets in a tough spot, and the night got worse when Monahan blocked a shot off his kneecap during the penalty kill and headed to the locker room. He did not return.
With the game effectively decided and Monahan unavailable, Bowness gave Voronkov some extra ice time in the third period, though he later disappeared from the bench after a good shift. Most of the final frame felt like damage control, but Werenski did connect on a late power play with his familiar wrist shot to trim the margin.
Buffalo’s speed and puck pressure were the story all night. The Sabres kept breaking up passes, pushed the puck north quickly, and got strong zone setup work from Dahlin, Power and Zellweger. Benson, Krebs, Norris and Doan were active on the forecheck, and UPL came through with several saves on chances that looked more dangerous than the numbers suggested.
For Columbus, Kent Johnson stayed hot, Fantilli kept fighting the puck, the penalty kill did its job, and the power play never found much rhythm. Provorov looked rusty, Greaves had both good stretches and a couple of soft goals, and the Jackets were battling the puck and themselves from start to finish.
Natural Stat Trick had Buffalo at 5.82 xG on 37 shots, while Columbus finished at 3.16 xG, though a good chunk of that came late.
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Zach Werenski gave the Jackets a much-needed jolt with his first goal of the season, helping drag the game back to even when it mattered most. Cam Talbot did the rest of the heavy lifting, coming up with several key saves and then staying sharp when the game went to the skills competition, the kind of late-game steadiness Columbus has been looking for as it works its way back to .500. [Read more 🡒]