The Buffalo Sabres opened the 2026-27 season with plenty to sort out, and their 6-3 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets gave them a little of everything: a strong night from Owen Power, an uneven outing from Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, and enough fight to suggest this group won’t go quietly.
Buffalo trailed early, chipped away, and kept itself in the game for stretches before Columbus pulled away. That left the Sabres with some encouraging signs and just as many reminders of what still needs work.
Power was the clearest bright spot. With injuries thinning out the blue line, Buffalo was always going to lean on him, Rasmus Dahlin, and Mattias Samuelsson right away, and Power responded by logging 25:25, the second-most ice time on the team.
He finished with two assists and looked every bit as composed as the Sabres have hoped. His skating stood out, and his ability to carry the puck up ice showed up on the first goal.
He doesn’t have to be the unquestioned No. 1 with Dahlin in the mix, but the signs are pointing toward a defenseman who is ready to become a major piece.
Luukkonen’s night went the other direction. The Sabres had gotten a positive injury update on him and Samuelsson before the opener, but that was about the last good news tied to Luukkonen.
He allowed five goals on 22 shots, and while the second Columbus goal was tough to pin on him - a wide-open one-timer in the slot from Matthew Knies - there were other moments when he had a clear look and still got beaten. He did make some strong saves, including a breakaway stop on Knies, but the overall picture was rough.
His inconsistency has been part of the story before, and this was one of those nights when the bad outweighed the good.
Still, Buffalo did show the same kind of stubbornness that helped define parts of last season. Even after falling behind, the Sabres kept pushing.
Jack Quinn scored with patience, and Konsta Helenius added a sharp one-timer to make it 4-3. Offensively, there were enough flashes to suggest the group can create chances and answer when things start slipping away.
The problem was what happened around the net. Columbus, and Knies in particular, caused too many problems in front, and Buffalo didn’t do enough to clean it up. The speed and skill were there, but so was the damage.
The good news is the Sabres get a quick shot at recovery on Saturday night against a young Chicago Blackhawks team that has also struggled out of the gate. After that, the schedule turns much tougher with the Minnesota Wild, Dallas Stars, Utah Mammoth, and Florida Panthers at home, followed by the Montreal Canadiens on the road. Early October already looks like a stretch that will tell us a lot about what this Sabres team really is.
In Other News...
Blue Jackets May Already Be Moving On From Jake Christiansen
Jake Christiansens night against Buffalo hinted at where he stands in the Blue Jackets defensive picture. Even with Columbus short-handed on the back end, he started with regular shifts and then saw his ice time dry up, a sign the staff was not leaning on him the way it had earlier in the game.
His usage also spoke volumes compared with the rest of the blue line, with Carson Soucy and Emil Andrae getting the larger share of the work as the night went on. The on-ice issues have been there too, from positioning to overall defensive reads, and if healthier options keep coming back, Christiansen may be fighting more than just the game in front of him. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jackets Just Showed How High The Price Is For Marchenko
Gary Bettmans concerns about no-trade clauses expanding beyond their original intent landed in the middle of a landscape where front offices are already spending plenty of time trying to thread impossible needles. For Columbus, the most revealing part of the conversation around Yegor Marchenko was not simply that another team had interest, but that the Blue Jackets were firm enough in their asking price to keep moving the goalposts on a deal even when the player himself was open to the destination.
Montreals inability to finish the trade underscores how much leverage Columbus had in the negotiations, and how expensive a scorer like Marchenko can be when a team is not looking to sell low. The broader NHL trade market only adds to the sense that the Blue Jackets are sitting on a valuable asset, with clubs everywhere trying to balance urgency, contract realities and limited pieces to offer in return. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jackets Fans Face A New Reality For Watching This Season
Columbus fans are getting used to a different kind of game-night setup as the Blue Jackets move toward the 2026-27 season. The teams broadcasts are shifting heavily to the team-owned Blue Jackets Hockey Network, and for viewers in the region that means following along through Fubos My Local Sports add-on. Fubo is positioning itself as a one-stop streaming option for sports fans, with access to a range of networks and features like unlimited Cloud DVR, which should make it easier for anyone trying to keep up with a full winter schedule.
The change puts a lot of weight on how fans choose to watch, especially with the team controlling so much of its own TV footprint. For Blue Jackets supporters, the practical question is no longer just whether the game is on, but where its available and which subscription setup makes the most sense over the course of the season. There is still some fine print to sort through for anyone planning ahead, and the details around what comes with the service will matter just as much as the schedule itself. [Read more 🡒]