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Preseason Preview/Gamethread 4: Blue Jackets at Sabres (and more!)

Posted on by Dalerrific

Saturday, September 30, 2023 – 3:00 P.M. ET
KeyBank Center – Buffalo, New York
TV: BlueJackets.com; Radio: 97.1 FM
Opponent’s Blog: Die By The Blade

Columbus Blue Jackets

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Buffalo Sabres

The Blue Jackets have headed north to take on the Buffalo Sabres in their fourth preseason game. We are now only 12 days away from opening night, which means the training camp roster has been reduced (more on that later) and an intriguing roster will be hitting the ice today.

The line combinations may not be known until gametime, but based on lines in practice yesterday it may be safe to assume that Laine will be playing center. I may be in the minority, but I’m all for giving it a shot. This team may have better center depth, but they still lack a high-end 1C-2C combo. Sillinger, Johnson, or LDBB may eventually be 2C material, but that’s likely a couple of years down the road. In the off chance that Laine excels at center, this team’s floor could be raised significantly – Fantilli, Laine, Jenner, Kuraly is all of a sudden a formidable (and flexible) down-the-middle lineup.

Today’s roster is full of bubble players. Dumais and Mateychuk continue to get looked at closely and will have another chance to impress. Jiricek will have an opportunity to play with an NHL partner. Malatesta, Voronkov, and Bemstrom are all out to prove that they deserve a spot on the big club as well.

Provorov and Marchenko will both be making their preseason debuts. Oh, and more Fantilli.

The Sabres have not yet released a roster, but it has been confirmed that highly touted goalie prospect Devon Levi is expected to play the entire game.

Camp Cuts

On Friday, the Jackets reduced their training camp roster down to 48 by cutting 14 players. There were no surprises and names such as Del Bel Belluz, Knazko and Pyyhtia will be reporting to the Cleveland Monsters.

Cuts: Tyler Angle, Ole-Julian Bjorgvik-Holm, Cameron Butler, Luca Del Bel Belluz, Samuel Knazko, Mikael Pyyhtia, ,Roman Ahcan, Cole Clayton, Jake Gaudet, Owen Sillinger, Eric Dop, Martin Rysavy, Nicolas Meloche* and Thomas Schemitsch*

*Released from tryout contracts

Waiver Claim

Also on Friday, the Blue Jackets claimed goalie Spencer Martin off of waivers from the Canucks. The 28 year old has 38 games of NHL experience and a career .885 save percentage. It is worth noting, however, that Spencer has had a lot of success in the AHL, including a .916 save percentage in 16 games last season. For now, he’s likely insurance for Tarasov’s mystery knee injury. The Jackets will have to put him through waivers to send him to Cleveland, but he would certainly be a welcome addition there.

Talking Points