Columbus answered an early Buffalo lead and finished with a 6-3 victory at Nationwide Arena, sealing the result with a power-play goal and an empty-netter. The highlights opened at a frantic pace: Tage Thompson rang a shot off the crossbar, the Blue Jackets countered on a four-on-two, and both teams found dangerous looks before the first goal.
How the Game Played Out
In the opening stretch, Buffalo’s speed through the neutral zone created pressure, while Columbus looked to turn the puck the other way quickly. Thompson’s attempt struck the crossbar, and the Blue Jackets came back with a four-on-two rush that ended in another near miss. The Sabres kept attacking in transition; a chance in front was stopped by Jack Green before Buffalo got the breakthrough.
On a four-on-four sequence, Matias Samuelson collected the puck and fired Buffalo into a 1-0 lead. The play came after a turnover, and the shot appeared to change direction off a Columbus stick on its way past the goaltender. Columbus responded through Charlie Coyle and Cole Cinger: Coyle worked through pressure and found Cinger trailing the play, and Cinger finished to tie the game at one. The highlights then move through a stretch without a complete account of every scoring play, so the final 6-3 score provides the full result while those early moments show how quickly the game swung.
The third period brought a late Buffalo push. Quinn carved toward the net and sent a backhand attempt off the post, leaving the Sabres close to a tying goal. Columbus also had to manage a Buffalo power play; the Blue Jackets killed it, extending their penalty-killing run to five successful kills on five attempts in the game. Later, Columbus converted on its own power play. A lateral feed found Monahan at the bumper, where he opened his blade and lifted the puck to score. With Buffalo pressing again, Coyle broke up a play and moved the puck to Matthew Olivier, who scored into the empty net to put the result away.
What the Result Means
The win put Columbus’s first victory in the books, as the highlights’ closing call noted. The 6-3 final gave the Blue Jackets a strong finish after Buffalo had struck first, and the closing sequence showed them withstand a late threat before adding insurance. Buffalo had created danger with its transition game and came within inches of a late equalizer, but Columbus’s penalty kill and late special-teams goal helped settle the contest.
The available game information confirms the final score but does not provide period-by-period totals, so the clearest picture is the one the highlights supply: an early exchange of chances, a Buffalo lead answered by Cinger, and a Columbus finish built around a successful kill, a power-play strike and Olivier’s empty-net goal. The teams will carry those opening-night lessons into their next games, with Columbus looking to build on its first win and Buffalo seeking a sharper finish when it gets another chance.
Watch the Highlights
The NHL highlights capture the opening crossbar chances, the goals by Samuelson and Cinger, Buffalo’s late push and Columbus’s closing power-play and empty-net finishes. Watch the full video above for the game’s key sequences.
Final Score: Columbus Blue Jackets 6, Buffalo Sabres 3.
Final Score: Columbus Blue Jackets 6, Buffalo Sabres 3.
Source: NHL game data and NHL YouTube highlights transcript