Buffalo Sabres fall to Columbus in Hockeyville USA

The Buffalo Sabres fell to the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-2 on Monday night in the fourth annual Kraft Hockeyville USA game.

Overall, the night was a success for the National Hockey League. The small town of Clinton, New York (with a population of 2,000 people) hosted a great event, including a red carpet, with an enthusiastic crowd that was fun for everyone involved. Sabres head coach reflected on the evening:

"“I don’t know how many locker rooms have a window in it, but we had windows in our locker room. It brought back a flashback from the past and I just want to thank the Clinton community for putting on a great show here.” – Phil Housley"

The biggest issue last night for the Buffalo Sabres was the penalty kill. The Blue Jackets were 3-for-3 on the power play, netting 1 power play goal in the 1st period and 2 in the 2nd period.

The Sabres got the scoring started when Casey Nelson scored 1:13 into the second period. Nelson is battling for one of the final 2 defenseman spots along with Jake McCabe, Brendan Guhle, and Nathan Beaulieu. Jake McCabe looks to have cemented one of the spots and Nelson will need to clear waivers to be sent down to Rochester. With his salary of $812,500 (according to capfriendly.com) and his production last season, it would be hard to imagine that another team would not claim him.

The highlight of the night for the Sabres was the top line of Jeff Skinner, Jack Eichel, and Sam Reinhart. Prior to training camp opening, I was of the belief that Skinner might be better suited to play on the second line with Casey Mittelstadt. However after 5 preseason games (yes, I realize they are just preseason games), the line seems to be firing on all cylinders and could be the offensive boost the team needs.

Sam Reinhart scored his first goal of the preseason on the power play on assists from Eichel and Rasmus Dahlin. Dahlin recorded his first (preseason) point as a Buffalo Sabre on a nice outlet pass that got the play started.

Additionally, Casey Mittelstadt failed to stand out last night when he needed to have a nice game with only 2 preseason games remaining on the schedule. The Sabres do not have a lot of depth at center and how they are setup down the middle might be the biggest weakness heading into opening night next week.

The Buffalo Sabres will be back at it tonight as they travel to Pittsburgh to face the Penguins.

What are your takeaways from last night? Let us know in the comment section below.