Sabres doubled up, 6-3, in season opener by Blue Jackets

Columbus, Ohio (WGR/WBEN) - The Buffalo Sabres' 2026-27 season opener did not go as planned on Thursday night. Visiting the Blue Jackets, the Sabres were doubled up in a 6-3 loss at Nationwide Arena in Columbus.

The Sabres opened the scoring with 7:21 gone in the first period of play.

After a career-year last season, defenseman Mattias Samuelsson picked up right where he left off. With the teams skating 4-on-4, Noah Ostlund left a pass for Samuelsson to step in to at the blue line. His snap shot beat Columbus goalie Jet Greaves off a re-direct off a Blue Jackets defenseman to get Buffalo off and running.

Five-and-a-half minutes later, the Blue Jackets responded.

Both Sabres blue liners got sucked into defending the same attacker, which left Columbus forward Cole Sillinger all alone. He wired the game-tying goal past goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to make it 1-1.

With just over two minutes left in the first period, Columbus grabbed its first lead of the game.

With Samuelsson in the penalty box, Blue Jackets forward Matthew Knies netted his first goal with his new team. Knies was acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sept. 28, and wasted no time endearing himself in Columbus as he made it 2-1, Blue Jackets.

The home side wasn't done in the first period, though.

Less than a minute after Knies scored, fellow forward Adam Fantilli upped the pressure on Buffalo. His re-direction of a point shot was the third goal against Luukkonen before the horn sounded for the first intermission.

It took just 85 seconds for the Sabres to cook up a response to start the middle stanza.

Ostlund made a nice play to keep a possession alive by leaping up to catch-and-drop a Columbus clearing attempt. Then it was Zach Benson who settled the puck on the ice and dished off to Jack Quinn, who hesitated a second before wiring home his first goal of the season.

Columbus grabbed back some momentum, though, and turned it into another goal against Luukkonen.

The Blue Jackets were faced with a full, two-minute 5-on-3 penalty kill, and weathered the storm against the Sabres' power play.

Then, down at the other end of the ice, Knies struck for the second time in the game, as he deflected another point shot to re-establish Columbus' two-goal lead, 4-2.

The Sabres weren't going away quietly, though.

Konsta Helenius, who made a great impression in the playoffs against the Montreal Canadiens last spring, made his presence felt with the first goal of his season. It came off to the right of Greaves, deflecting high off the netminder's padding and in.

That would be as close as the Sabres got for the rest of the night, though. Columbus clamped down in the third period, and bided time until the late stages.

With just over five-and-a-half minutes left in regulation, the Blue Jackets pulled away with another power play tally. This time, it was veteran forward Sean Monahan deflecting another puck past Luukkonen, thrown in front by linemate Valeri Nichushkin.

Before the final whistle, Columbus tacked on one more with Luukkonen pulled for an extra skater. Forward Mathieu Olivier put the finishing touches on the final score, as his empty-net goal helped the Blue Jackets double up the Sabres, 6-3, with 2:07 left to play.

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SCORING RECAP

First Period:

BUF: 7:21 - Mattias Samuelsson (1) (Noah Ostlund, Owen Power)
CBJ: 12:51 - Cole Sillinger (1) (Charlie Coyle, Denton Mateychuk); 17:58 - Matthew Knies (1) PPG (Charlie Coyle, Zach Werenski); 18:44 - Adam Fantilli (1) (Zach Wereski, Matthew Knies)

Second Period:

BUF: 1:25 - Jack Quinn (1) (Zach Benson, Noah Ostlund); 13:14 - Konsta Helenius (1) (Ryan McLeod, Owen Power)
CBJ: 7:45 - Matthew Knies (2) (Emil Andrae, Kent Johnson)

Third Period:

BUF: NONE
CBJ: 14:21 - Sean Monahan (1) PPG (Valeri Nichushkin, Dmitri Voronkov); 17:53 - Mathieu Olivier (1) ENG (Unassisted)

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STATS OF THE GAME:

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Bluestar Home Services Three Stars of the Game:

1.) Matthew Knies - CBJ
2.) Zach Werenski - CBJ
3.) Charlie Coyle - CBJ

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What's next:

The Sabres will return to Buffalo for their home opener on Saturday night against the Chicago Blackhawks. Faceoff at KeyBank Center is slated for 7 p.m. with Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray on the call on the radio home of the Sabres - WGR.