Columbus, Ohio (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Sabres suffered its first loss of the 2024 preseason on Saturday, as a 2-1 lead through two periods crumbled away at Nationwide Arena.
The Columbus Blue Jackets concocted a five-goal third period to stun the blue and gold in a 6-3 final.
The Sabres grabbed the opening goal of the game with about five minutes remaining in the first period. On a power play, Thursday night's overtime hero, Noah Ostlund, located Josh Dunne all set up by the side of Elvis Merzlikins' net.
Dunne, a former Columbus prospect, haunted his old team as he re-directed Östlund’s hard pass in for the 1-0 lead.
The Sabres' lead swelled to 2-0 in the middle stanza when Zach Metsa's shot from the middle of the zone found its way in behind Merzlikins. It was Metsa's first goal of the preseason.
Columbus sliced Buffalo's advantage in half just before the end of the second period, as veteran James van Riemsdyk beat goalie Felix Sandstrom with a backhand.
Another NHL veteran helped the Blue Jackets climb all the way back in the early goings of the third period. Forward Sean Monahan, who signed with Columbus in the offseason, re-directed a pass from Kent Johnson to tie the score, 2-2.
Monahan wasn't done there, as less than three minutes later, he buried his second goal of the night from a tough angle past Sandstrom to give Columbus its first lead of the evening with 10:32 left in regulation.
Shell-shocked, the Sabres' tough third period continued.
Just 22-seconds later, defenseman Jake Christiansen snuck down deep to accept a one-time pass from Johnson, who was going to work behind the net of Sandstrom. Christiansen's snap-shot eluded the netminder, and extended the Columbus advantage to 4-2 in the blink of an eye.
Any viewer who blinked again might have missed, yet, another Blue Jackets goal less than a minute later.
Forward Adam Fantilli continued the onslaught on Sandstrom, and rammed home Columbus' fifth-consecutive goal.
The Sabres finally patched a hole in the leaking dam, as Östlund and Mason Jobst teamed up for a dazzling goal. A spin-o-rama feed from Östlund found Jobst, who opened up on his off-wing side for a one-time beauty, and his first goal of the preseason.
Unfortunately for the blue and gold, the patchwork wasn't enough.
Blue Jackets forward Cole Sillinger hit an empty-net with 90 seconds left in regulation to put a bow on a forgettable period, and bring the score to 6-3, Columbus.
Buffalo now sits at 4-1-0 in the preseason.
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SCORING RECAP
First Period:
BUF: 14:56 - Josh Dunne (2) PPG (Noah Ostlund, Nikita Novikov)
CBJ: NONE
Second Period:
BUF: 9:19 - Zach Metsa (1) (Noah Ostlund, Mason Jobst)
CBJ: 17:49 - James van Riemsdyk (1) (Kirill Marchenko, Damon Severson)
Third Period:
BUF: 13:46 - Mason Jobst (1) (Noah Ostlund, Vsevolod Komarov)
CBJ: 6:19 - Sean Monahan (1) PPG (Kent Johnson, Zach Werenski); 9:28 - Sean Monahan (2) (Kirill Marchenko, Ivan Provorov); 9:50 - Jake Christiansen (1) (Kent Johnson, Dmitri Voronkov); 10:43 - Adam Fantilli (4) (Yegor Chinakhov); 18:28 - Cole Sillinger (2) ENG (Unassisted)
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Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Sean Monahan - CBJ
2.) Kent Johnson - CBJ
3.) Kirill Marchenko - CBJ
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What's next:
The Sabres’ preseason wraps on Monday night, as they get set to host the Detroit Red Wings for a 7 p.m. ET faceoff at KeyBank Center. This contest can be heard on WGR Sports Radio 550 with Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray on the call.