HOW IT HAPPENED
Period 1
Konsta Helenius nearly got the Sabres on the board less than four minutes into the contest. Buffalo’s first-round draft selection from earlier this summer collected a puck with speed, cut to his backhand, then forehand for a shot in tight that Columbus goaltender Elvis Merzlikins turned aside.
Riley Fiddler-Schultz had one of the best chances of the period, stealing a puck at the Columbus blueline to go in on a breakaway, but his five-hole attempt was snuffed out by Merzlikins.
Buffalo eventually broke through on its second power play of the game. On the man-advantage, Östlund fed the puck from the right side to Dunne, who crashed the net with his stick on the ice in the goalmouth for a redirection.
Dunne, who spent his first four professional seasons in the Blue Jackets organization, added his second goal in as many exhibition games. The undrafted free agent signed with Buffalo earlier this summer as a free agent.
Period 2
The Sabres doubled their lead in the middle stanza, shortly after killing off a penalty nearly halfway through the frame. Streaking down the ice for an odd-man rush, after Anton Wahlberg absorbed a hit to make an outlet pass, Mason Jobst carried the puck into the attacking zone, before dishing a pass across to Östlund on the right wing who dropped a pass to Metsa, who had joined the rush. The defenseman scored his first goal of the preseason, which gave the Sabres a 2-0 lead with 9:19 to go in the period.
“I think he’s (Östlund) been playing this way since the rookie tournament,” said Leone. “Maybe at that time the points weren’t coming, but if you just watch his game, he’s really good in our own zone. He’s on top of pucks and has really good habits and details in his game and when he has the puck on his stick, good things usually happen. I thought he was the best player on the ice tonight.”
Sandstrom would come on in relief of Ratzlaff, who finished with 20 saves on as many shots. In two preseason appearances, the 19-year-old goaltender has made 30 saves and has not allowed a goal against in 50:52 of game action.
“He’s been great,” said Leone. “He did a really good job controlling pucks. We had a lot of defensive zone faceoffs and he made sure we didn’t face a lot of second and third chances. He’s a young kid and this is a big moment for him. For him and his development, it’s only going to be good for him to move on and take confidence from this experience with him as he continues to progress.”
Columbus would get on the board at the 17:49 mark, when James Van Riemsdyk scored just seconds after he collected a pass through the blue paint from Kirill Marchenko.
Period 3
Sean Monahan evened the score at 2-2 with a power play goal 6:19 into the final period. With Isak Rosen in the penalty box, Monahan parked himself in front of the net, and recieved a pass from Kent Johnson to tie the game. Monahan, Jake Christiansen, and Adam Fantilli all scored within a span of 1:15 to give the Blue Jackets a 5-2 lead.
With 6:14 to play in the period, Jobst scored to bring Buffalo back within two. Vsevolod Komarov grabbed control of a loose puck at his own blue line, and made an outlet pass to Östlund, who found Jobst, beating Merzlikins as he dove across to his left.
“He’s a warrior,” said Leone when asked about Mason Jobst. “He’s a leader and a great guy for our young kids to follow. He does everything he can to help the team win.”
Facing a two-goal deficit in the final moments of regulation, Buffalo pulled the goaltender in favor of an extra attacker. Cole Sillinger capped off the night's scoring with an empty net goal to seal the Blue Jackets 6-3 win.
