Buffalo Sabres Opponent Outlook: Columbus Blue Jackets

By Melissa Kania | Sep 16, 2015

Last season, the Buffalo Sabres and Columbus Blue Jackets met three times. The Sabres were outscored 9-7, but ended up winning one of the meetings. This season, can the Sabres, bolstered by new additions like Evander Kane, Ryan O’Reilly, Jack Eichel, David Legwand and co. prove a tougher opponent for the Blue Jackets?

Zemgus Girgensons led the Sabres last season with three points in as many games against the Blue Jackets (2 goals, 1 assist). Marcus Foligno also put up two points against the Columbus squad.

The Blue Jackets took the first meeting of the season, a 3-1 victory on October 9th. Girgensons had the lone Buffalo goal (assisted by Foligno), while Jack Skille, Cam Atkinson and Artem Anisimov scored for Columbus in the season-opener.

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The teams then didn’t meet again until February, when Buffalo won, 4-2. Cody Hodgson, Mark Pysyk, Chris Stewart and Girgensons all scored for Buffalo. Girgensons also had an assist, while Andrej Meszaros, Zach Bogosian, Brian Flynn and Foligno each added helpers. Matt Calvert and Kevin Connauton scored for the Blue Jackets.

The final meeting of the year was the Sabres’ second-to-last game of the season. Columbus won 4-2, helping seal 30th place for the Sabres, who were at the time seeking that first-overall draft pick. Mikhail Grigorenko and Brian Gionta scored for Buffalo, with Gionta, Foligno, Tyler Ennis and Bogosian adding assists.

Nick Foligno, Calvert, Cam Atkinson and Boone Jenner all scored for Columbus.

Overall, the Blue Jackets finished out of the playoffs with a record of 42-35-5 on the season. Eighty-nine points put them nine points out of a wild card spot. Their goal-differential of minus-14 was not terrible, especially when compared with Buffalo’s minus-113. Overall, Columbus went 19-20-2 at home and 23-15-3 on the road; they won nine of 11 shootouts.

In the offseason, the Blue Jackets let go of former Buffalo Sabres forward Luke Adam, as well as Mark Letestu. But they’ve added Gregory Campbell and John Ramage to their ranks for the coming season, also bringing back Michael Chaput and Matt Calvert.

Perhaps the most interesting new member of the Blue Jackets, however, is Brandon Saad, who comes to Columbus after being part of a seven-player trade with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Saad was sent to Columbus along with Michael Paliotta and Alexander Broadhurst. In exchange, Artem Anisimov, Jeremy Morin, Corey Tropp, Marko Dano and a 2016 4th-rounder all went to Chicago.

It’s undeniable that that was quite a notable trade for both sides, and seeing what Saad can do with his new team should be a juicy storyline heading into the season. The loss of guys like Anisimov, Morin (who returns to his old club) and Dano is also undeniably big for the Blue Jackets, who will have to make up their presence on the roster this season.

Of course, one of the continuous storylines in any Sabres vs. Blue Jackets game: the face off of the Foligno brothers, as Marcus Foligno and newly-named Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno hit the ice against one another.

The Blue Jackets and Sabres will face off three times this season, beginning with an appropriate Columbus Day matchup on October 12 at First Niagara Center at 3 p.m. They’ll then hit the ice in Columbus on February 19th before returning to Buffalo for a final meeting on April 8.

Next: Rochester Americans Season Schedule Breakdown

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