Tonight the Sabres looked slow and sloppy early on, but played well to turn it into a fun hockey game, eventually losing 4-3 in overtime to the Blue Jackets.
The Sabres looked sloppy early tonight, and when they couldn’t clear the puck in the D-zone, Yegor Chinakhov was left all by himself in the middle of the ice, taking the easy shot to make it 1-0 Columbus, 6:09 into the game. Buffalo didn’t look great in that first period, getting outshot 15-7. They got better late in the period, but the Jackets were absolutely the better team through the first 20 minutes.
Buffalo played far better in the second period, playing quicker and pressing offensively in the offensive zone, putting pressure on the Blue Jackets. With 8:21 left in the second, Josh Doan tied up the game with a nice effort in front, getting open all alone up front and pushing the puck in past Greaves after he made the initial save. Ryan McLeod made it 2-1 Sabres with 5:48 left in the first, taking a shot from the boards that went off a Columbus defenseman in front and into the net. With 15.4 seconds left before the end of the period, Zach Werenski ripped a shot from the blue line on the power play, squeaking past Lyon to tie the game up at 2, going into the second intermission.
Josh Dunne got his first goal of his NHL career, staying on the puck in the crease and pushing it into the back of the net, 2:40 into the third period, getting Buffalo on top again, 3-2. With 6:05 to go in the third, Miles Wood tied up the game and cashed my over deflecting the puck in front from on a Chinakhov shot from the wall. This game got pretty fun, and with that, we go to overtime for the second game in a row.
Both teams had some great chances, making overtime so much fun to watch until Miles Wood tipped the puck in short side in transition to end it in overtime with his second goal of the game, 2:53 into OT.
Final: Sabres 3, Blue Jackets 4 (OT)
I thought Buffalo looked awful early on tonight, but after they got it going, they made it a fun game. We sustained pressure and got rolling, but it wasn’t enough, losing in OT.
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