And, we're off.
The Columbus Blue Jackets and Buffalo Sabres got together to begin their respective preseasons tonight at Nationwide Arena, and it went about as you'd expect.
At times, quite sloppy. At others, a little gnarly. But as both teams worked off the rust there were some things to like if you're the Blue Jackets, particularly with some of their skilled players.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLUE JACKETS | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| SABRES | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
Let's get this out of the way first: the final score was 4-1, with most of the damage being done early in the second period by Buffalo when Brad Thiessen took over the net from Matiss Kivlenieks, who appeared to get injured in a net-mouth scramble late in the first period.
The Sabres scored three times in the first 6:39 of the middle frame to effectively put the game away.
Now, for the encouraging stuff: Pierre-Luc Dubois was one of the better players on the ice, with his pure strength standing out on a few occasions – both with and without the puck. Anthony Duclair showed flashes of speed and skill, while Vitaly Abramov was zipping around and bringing the puck along with him.
Add Jonathan Davidsson to that mix, as well, particularly in the third period. The kid's got skill.
Duclair, in one of his better moments, made a deft pass in traffic to a wide-open David Savard, who'd found room down the flank and snapped a wrist shot past Sabres goaltender Linus Ullmark.
The Sabres had full control of this thing from the second period on, but it's preseason, so the result isn't on the front burner. The Blue Jackets, on the other hand, got a long look at Milano and Duclair together (they've practiced together on a line with center Riley Nash early in camp) in even strength and power play situations.
Defenseman Adam Clendening, a free agent addition who's on his seventh NHL team at age 25, also showed well in his "first impression" game.
Injury Update
Kivlenieks, who started the game in net for the Blue Jackets, left after 20 minutes and was replaced by Brad Thiessen. Joseph Raaymakers served as the backup goalie for the second and third periods.
Next Up
The Blue Jackets continue exhibition action tomorrow (Tuesday) night, right back at Nationwide Arena. Game time is 7 p.m., and fans can stream the game on FOX Sports Go and BlueJackets.com.
