Columbus Blue Jackets (4) at Buffalo Sabres (2)
Starters
Jackets
Panarin-Foudy-Davidsson
Prapavessis-Jones
Korpisalo
Sabres
Skinner-Eichel-Reinhart
McCabe-Bogosian
Wedgewood
Jackets Lines
Duclair-Wennberg-Stenlund
Panarin-Foudy-Davidsson
Jenner-Dubinsky-Anderson
Sedlak-Vigneault-Robinson
Jackets Pairings
Prapavessis-Jones
Carlsson-Clendening
Kukan-Savard
Goal Recap
After a scoreless first period, the Buffalo Sabres and Columbus Blue Jackets went on a scoring tear.
The Sabres were the first on the board 1:13 into the game. Alexander Nylander fired the puck through traffic to Casey Nelson who was skating towards the left faceoff dot. Nelson scooped up the puck and launched it into the net past Joonas Korpisalo.
With 7:24 left to play in the second period, the Blue Jackets tied the game up at one. Anthony Duclair received the puck from Michael Prapavessis before taking off down the ice towards Scott Wedgewood. Duclair fooled Wedgewood on the left side. Then proceeded to drag the puck across the crease and behind Wedgewood’s skate. It was a nice little move by Duclair.
Two minutes later, Rasmus Dahlin launched the puck to Jack Eichel. Upon receiving the puck, Eichel raced down the ice. From the left circle, he spotted Sam Reinhart open in front of the net. A quick thinking Eichel passed the puck off to Reinhart who pushed it into the net. The Sabres now led the Blue Jackets, 2-1.
It was a short lead.
The Jackets tied the game at two with 4:25 left in the second period. Artemi Panarin fed the puck to Liam Foudy who had opened up shop behind the Sabres’ net. Foudy quickly tossed the puck to Adam Clendening. Wedgewood didn’t see the goal coming. Clendening kept his stick on the ice during the entire play. This made it easier for him to pop the puck into the net before Wedgewood could register what was going on.
Six and a half minutes into the third period, Panarin fired the puck through two sticks and a five hole to give the Jackets the 3-2 lead. Alexander Wennberg put his stick in front of Wedgewood’s place to block the goalie’s view of the ice. This proved to be quite helpful.
With 11:05 left in the game, Panarin backhanded the puck to Kevin Stenlund who fired the puck from outside the right faceoff circle.
When time ran down the Jackets came out on top over the Sabres, 4-2.
But Wait! There’s More
Quick Thoughts
– Alex Wennberg actually tried to shoot the puck tonight. The Sabres saw it coming and foiled his attempt, BUT ALEX WENNBERG TRIED TO SHOOT THE PUCK!
– Sam Vigneault continues to use his big body to benefit the team by setting up shop in front of the net to scoop up rebounds.
– Adam Clendening has been a lovely addition to the team. He gets in the lane of play to foil goal attempts. The ability to get himself in the right place to score a goal isn’t a bad trait either.
– David Savard had some nice looks on net. It appears he’s trying to score more from the blue line
– Liam Foudy has some pretty neat stick handling moves. It’s clear people have no problem coming for him. It might be best to allow Foudy to hone his skills in juniors for one more year to avoid injury while learning.
– Kevin Stenlund was quite aggressive along the boards tonight. It’s nice to see him coming into his own during the prospects tournament and preseason.
– It appears KorpiSOLID mode has been activated. Joonas Korpisalo came up big multiple times in the third period. He went full splits a few times and even laid on the ice to fill up the crease with his body. Korpisalo also used his stick properly to knock the puck out of the crease.
Game Stats
What’s Next
The Blue Jackets continue preseason play against the Pittsburgh “Not A Rivalry” Penguins on Friday. Puck drops at 7pm. Get to Nationwide Arena to get your hockey fix.