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Tuesday, September 23, 2025 – 7:00 PM EDT
KeyBank Center – Buffalo, New York
TV: BlueJackets.com; Radio: 97.1 FM
Columbus Blue Jackets (1-1-0)
at
Buffalo Sabres (1-0-0)
Previously
The first 20 minutes featured the Jackets controlling play against the Sabres. The last 40? Well:
Players that stood out:
Damon Severson: He played a simple game and didn’t do anything to hurt the team. He and Ivan Provorov had an on-ice shot-attempt-for rate above 80% at 5v5. He didn’t do anything to hurt the team. Is that a very low bar given his contract? Sure, but it’s progress nevertheless.
Luca Pinelli: I continue to be impressed every time I see him play. Despite his size he never shies away from a battle. He’s involved in every play when he’s on the ice.
Owen Griffin: Hard to believe he’s just 18. The 5th round pick this summer looked he could play pro hockey this season if that were allowed. Keep an eye on him for the future.
Isac Lundestrom: The free agent signing was strong in the faceoff circle and impressed me with his skating speed. I’m excited to see what he can bring to the fourth line and the penalty kill in the regular season.
Christian Jaros: Today I learned that “Christian Jaros” is Slovakian for “Scott Harrington, but worse.” No wonder he hasn’t played in the NHL since 2022. He was on ice for the three non-empty net goals against. In each case he was either out of position or shielding his goalie.
Rosters
Columbus
Buffalo
TBD at the time of writing, but it may be a completely different roster from what we saw tonight.
Player to Watch
Luca Del Bel Belluz: He had a goal on Sunday, and I want to see him force Don Waddell and Dean Evason to make a difficult decision when making the final roster cuts.