The Buffalo Sabres closed out their home portion of the preseason on Wednesday night with a 4-3 overtime win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at KeyBank Center.
After a late Columbus goal forced overtime, it was Marcus Johansson with a nice all-around play to set himself up for the game-winning goal just 1:36 into the bonus round of hockey. One of the newest Sabres managed to steal the puck at the Blue Jackets' blue line to create a 2-on-1 rush with Jeff Skinner, used his patience to slow down the play, and managed to fire a high shot over the glove of goalie Elvis Merzlikins to give Buffalo the win.
The Sabres didn't get off to the best of starts as the Blue Jackets controlled the pace of play from the get-go. Buffalo's slow play eventually resulted in the game's first goal scored by former Sabres forward Nathan Gerbe, where he managed to out-muscle Casey Mittelstadt for a loose puck at center ice, and then he skated into the Sabres' zone and fired a high shot over the glove of Carter Hutton.
It was not until the last few minutes of the first period when the Sabres finally got their feet under them. It finally resulted in the game-tying goal with just 53-seconds remaining in the period when Tage Thompson fired a wrist shot from the point that found its way to the top corner of the net and over the glove of Merzlikins.
The Sabres got an early chance in the second period to take their first lead of the night when Columbus defenseman Dean Kukan was penalized for tripping Skinner in the Blue Jackets' end. All it took was 42-seconds for the Sabres to get the go-ahead goal as Skinner found Sam Reinhart off to the right of Merzlikins, and the winger re-directed the pass into the back of the net.
Buffalo continued its strong play throughout the second period, managing to out-shoot the Blue Jackets 13-9 after getting out-shot in the opening period, 8-5.
The 2-1 score would stand into the third period until the Blue Jackets tied the game at the 8:02 mark with a goal from forward Josh Anderson, who found himself wide open with the puck to the right of Hutton. The Columbus winger out-waited Hutton for a split second, and managed to fire a shot over his right arm.
The score did not stay tied for long as less than two minutes later, Sabres captain Jack Eichel put up some strong pressure in the Blue Jackets zone and eventually forced a turnover along the end boards. Eichel then gathered the loose puck and fired a quick pass to winger Victor Olofsson just inside the faceoff circle, and his one-time shot beat Merzlikins on the blocker side.
It seemed like the Sabres were going to be able to hold on to the lead and preserve another win in the preseason, but with just 1:56 remaining in regulation, the Blue Jackets got a nice bounce off the stick of Gerbe in front of Hutton and the game was tied at 3-3.
As overtime began, the Sabres controlled pace of play and never let the Blue Jackets carry the puck into the Buffalo zone. As it looked like the Blue Jackets were set to start a rush out of their zone, a soft pass was stolen by Johansson, who turned the play around for the game-winning goal seconds later.
GAME SUMMARY
Scoring Summary:
First Period:
CBJ: 5:19 - Nathan Gerbe (1) (Paul Bittner, Dean Kukan)BUF: 19:07 - Tage Thompson (2) (Unassisted)
Second Period:
CBJ: NONEBUF: 2:00 - Sam Reinhart (2) PP (Jeff Skinner, Jack Eichel)
Third Period:
CBJ: 8:02 - Josh Anderson (2) (Scott Harrington, Jakob Lilja); 18:04 - Nathan Gerbe (2) (Nikita Korostelev)BUF: 9:57 - Victor Olofsson (3) (Jack Eichel)
Overtime:
CBJ: NONEBUF: 1:36 - Marcus Johansson (1) (Unassisted)
Penalty Summary:
First Period:
CBJ: NONEBUF: 10:04 - Colin Miller (Hooking - 2 min.)
Second Period:
CBJ: 1:18 - Dean Kukan (Tripping - 2 min.); 11:31 - Bench Minor (Too many men on the ice - 2 min.)BUF: 7:49 - Marcus Johansson (Slashing - 2 min.)
Third Period:
CBJ: NONEBUF: NONE
Overtime:
CBJ: NONEBUF: NONE
Shots:
CBJ: 34 (8, 9, 8, 0)BUF: 29 (5, 13, 8, 3)
Power Plays:
CBJ: 0 for 2 (0%)BUF: 1 for 2 (50%)
Goalies:
CBJ: Elvis Merzlikins - 25 savesBUF: Carter Hutton - 31 saves
Three Stars:
1.) Marcus Johansson - BUF2.) Nathan Gerbe - CBJ3.) Jack Eichel - BUF
What's next:
The Sabres close out the preseason on Saturday as they team heads to Pittsburgh to play the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena. Faceoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. on WGR with pre-game coverage starting at 3:45 p.m. with Brian Koziol and Paul Hamilton.
