Columbus Blue Jackets @ Buffalo Sabers: 9/23/24 Preseason Game 1

It's been a heavily emotional offseason with the passing of Johnny and Mathew Gaudreau. Tributes continue to pour in from the Boston Bruins doing 13 seconds of silence for Johnny to the Buffalo Sabers donating their portion of their 50/50 raffle to the Gaudreau Memorial Fund. I've said it before, but in times like this, the NHL seems like a small family, not a league that spans two countries with players and fans from all around the world. It's really touching and beautiful. That said, many have pointed out that Johnny would want us to look forward to and focus on hockey. So, without further ado, let the Columbus Blue Jackets 2024-25 NHL Preseason begin! 

It is important to mention, before I get into the game recap, that this was a young Blue Jackets team playing an experienced Buffalo Sabers team. Why? The Sabers have been given an incredible honor by the NHL. They will open the 2024-25 NHL Season with the New Jersey Devils, and that game will be played in Germany! So, it was best for the Sabers to play some of the players who will likely see competitive hockey on the world stage before the trip. The plan worked well for the Buffalo Sabers at the Blue Jackets' expense. The first period was impressive. The home team would score goal one thanks to O. Powers at 5:35. The assists on this goal would go to J. Peterka and J. Quinn. This goal wouldn't just be the first of the game but also the first powerplay goal of the game. At 11:55, Mathew Oliver would even the score to a 1-1 tie. The goal would belong solely to him, and that score would hold until the completion of period 1.   

Sadly, the Sabers would run away with period 2's scoring, giving them a two-goal cushion by the end of 40 minutes. Z. Benson would score the first of the two goals at 5:15 with assists from teammates H. Jokiharju and J. Quinn. The second goal would come from P. Krebs at 10:440 with assists from teammates T. Thompson and D. Gilbert. So, a 3-1 Sabers lead after period 2. 

A two-goal deficit isn't impossible to overcome, but once the Saberrs poured on three more goals in 7 minutes, it's a steeper challenge. D. Cozens would score the first of these three goals at 2:34 with assists credited to teammates Z. Benson and B. Byram. Less than three minutes later, at 5:23, M. Samuelson would follow up with the fifth Sabers goal this evening. J. Peterka would have his second assist of the evening on this goal and P. Krebs would have his first assist tonight on this goal as well. Then, less than two minutes after that fifth goal would come a sixth from N. Aube-Kubei at 7:00 on the dot. S. Laffety would have his first assist tonight while the second assist would go to B. Byram, giving him his second assist of the evening. This would be the final goal of the evening. The final was Buffalo 6, Blue Jackets 1.  

The Blue Jackets had two chances on the powerplay, but neither resulted in a goal. The Blue Jackets had 8 penalty minutes compared to only 4 for the Sabers. Until the bitter end, the Blue Jackets had led in shots on goal, but that changed with less than 2 minutes remaining in period 3. The final total for shots on goal was Blue Jackets 26, Sabers 29. Remember, this is only preseason and a game like this is great for coaches and players to learn from. It may sound cliche, but a loss is still a win in this regard. Another amazing win tonight is that the Buffalo Sabers 50/50 resulted in a $9,372 donation to the Gaudreau Memorial Fund. Thank you, Buffalo, you're amazing. 

The next Columbus Blue Jackets Preseason Game will be on Wednesday. The St. Louis Blues will come to town and puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. 

Go CBJ!