Columbus, Ohio (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Sabres have now allowed 12 goals in the last two nights.
After losing 6-5 in overtime on Wednesday night in Pittsburgh against the Penguins, the Sabres followed that with a 6-4 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night at Nationwide Arena.
Columbus opened the scoring just 5:12 into the contest. On a power play opportunity, forward Yegor Chinakhov wired a shot from the left faceoff circle past Devon Levi for a 1-0 Blue Jackets edge.
The Sabres were a mere 30 seconds from escaping the first period only down by a goal, but a horrid turnover by defenseman Mattias Samuelsson led to a second Columbus goal. Samuelsson snapped off a cross-ice, defensive zone pass to no one in particular, and Blue Jackets forward Kirill Marchenko took the gift and snuck another shot past Levi from the left circle to make it 2-0.
Buffalo trimmed its deficit in half at the midway point of the second period. One night after potting his first goal with the Sabres, forward Ryan McLeod doubled down and netted his second of the season to make it 2-1, Columbus.
Later in the period is when the real madness ensued, as a wild road trip rolled on for the Sabres.
The Blue Jackets tacked on a third goal minutes after McLeod's tally, courtesy of forward Adam Fantilli.
Now trailing 3-1, young forward Jiri Kulich went to work. His deflection of a Dylan Cozens point shot was Kulich's first-career goal in the NHL.
Unfortunately for Kulich and the Sabres, though, the moment only lasted 29 seconds.
Forward Mathieu Olivier and the Blue Jackets rained on the celebratory parade with an immediate response to recapture the two-goal lead, 4-2, late in the frame.
Buffalo kept it interesting before period's end, though, much like Columbus did the period before. With just 25 seconds left before the second intermission, defenseman Owen Power trimmed the deficit back to one with his second goal of the campaign.
The Blue Jackets kept making life difficult for the Sabres with an immediate rebuttal at the start of the third period of play. Veteran forward Zach Aston-Reese registered his first goal with Columbus to balloon the home team's lead to 5-3 a mere 15 seconds into the stanza.
Buffalo's deficit, for the first time, reached three goals with 8:10 gone in the third. Blue Jackets defenseman Damon Severson activated himself, and snuck down into the slot to accept a pass from Marchenko. Severson tapped the puck past Levi to make it 6-3, Columbus, in the process.
JJ Peterka tried to shovel coal into the comeback train with 2:09 to play, but the team got stuck on the tracks. His third of the year in the extra-attacker scenario was the last goal scored on this wild night, as the Blue Jackets held on for the 6-4 victory over the Sabres.
----------
SCORING RECAP
First Period:
BUF: NONE
CBJ: 5:12 - Yegor Chinakhov (2) PPG (Zach Werenski, Kent Johnson); 19:28 - Kirill Marchenko (2) (Unassisted)
Second Period:
BUF: 9:34 - Ryan McLeod (2) (Jason Zucker, Jordan Greenway); 17:29 - Jiri Kulich (1) (Dylan Cozens, Henri Jokiharju); 19:35 - Owen Power (2) (Unassisted)
CBJ: 12:18 - Adam Fantilli (2) (Zach Werenski, Ivan Provorov); 17:58 - Mathieu Olivier (1) (Cole Sillinger, Jake Christiansen)
Third Period:
BUF: 17:51 - JJ Peterka (3) (Tage Thompson, Rasmus Dahlin)
CBJ: 0:15 - Zach Aston-Reese (1) (Jake Christiansen, Mathieu Olivier); 8:10 - Damon Severson (1) (Kirill Marchenko)
----------
----------
Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Kirill Marchenko - CBJ
2.) Mathieu Olivier - CBJ
3.) Damon Severson - CBJ
----------
What's next:
The Sabres will wrap their three-game road trip on Saturday night by visiting the Chicago Blackhawks. Puck drop at the United Center is set for 8 p.m. ET with Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray on the call on the radio home of the Sabres - WGR Sports Radio 550.