Noah Ostlund collects three points but Sabres suffer first loss as Blue Jackets rally
The Buffalo Sabres suffered their first loss of the exhibition season Saturday night as the Columbus Blue Jackets overcame an early deficit with a five-goal third period to beat Buffalo 6-3 before 12,305 in Nationwide Arena.
The Buffalo Sabres suffered their first loss of the exhibition season Saturday night as the Columbus Blue Jackets overcame an early deficit with a five-goal third period to beat Buffalo 6-3 before 12,305 in Nationwide Arena.
Center Noah Ostlund, whose overtime winner defeated Ottawa on Thursday, assisted on all three goals for the Sabres (5-1). A power-play goal by Josh Dunne at 14:56 of the first period and a 5-on-5 tally by Zach Metsa at 9:19 of the second period gave the Sabres a 2-0 lead. Mason Jobst scored Buffalo's other goal off an Ostlund feed with 6:14 left in the third period.
Buffalo Sabres Noah Ostlund (36), shown during the Prospects Challenge at LECOM Harborcenter on Sept. 14, assisted on all three of Buffalo's goals Saturday in Columbus.
Joshua Bessex/Buffalo News
Sabres starting goalie Scott Ratzlaff made the Buffalo lead stand up by stopping all 20 shots he faced over 31 minutes of play. It was the best game showing for Ratzlaff, Buffalo's fifth-round pick in 2023, but veteran Felix Sandstrom couldn't come close to matching it.
Sandstrom, the free-agent signee out of the Philadelphia organization slated to man the crease in Rochester this year, was torched for five goals on 22 shots, and several of Columbus' scoring plays should have been routine saves.
James Van Riemsdyk scored with 2:11 left in the second period to get Columbus moving, and center Sean Monahan netted two of the Blue Jackets' five third-period goals. The last one came when Cole Sillinger hit an empty net with 1:32 to play.
The Sabres wrap up the exhibition season Monday night in KeyBank Center as the prospects meet the Detroit Red Wings. Don't expect to see too many of Detroit's veterans in the game. That is because the Wings will be splitting their squad for the night, with some players staying home to meet the Pittsburgh Penguins in Little Caesars Arena.
That game was originally scheduled for Saturday night, but was postponed when the Penguins had mechanical trouble with the team plane and could not depart from Pittsburgh.
On to Prague
The Sabres' main team had a final practice in Munich, Germany, on Sunday morning before heading to the airport for the 50-minute flight to Czechia, where it will open the season Friday against the New Jersey Devils in Prague. Buffalo is scheduled to have its first practice there on Monday afternoon.The Devils, under new coach Sheldon Keefe, used many of their main players in the first four preseason games and finished them 0-4 with Friday's 5-1 loss to the New York Islanders in UBS Arena. They were also scheduled to fly to Prague on Sunday.
No. 1 center Jack Hughes sat out Friday's game with a charley horse as a precaution, with the team saying it was to make sure he was ready for the opener against Buffalo. New Jersey scored just six goals in the four games.