For the fourth straight season, the Buffalo Sabres drop their season opener as they lose to the Columbus Blue Jackets by a final score of 6-3. The Sabres scored the first goal of the game, but after that, it was almost all Columbus, as they scored three straight in the first period and were able to play with the lead for the remainder of the game.
These are three takeaways from the first game of the season for the Buffalo Sabres.
Ugly finish to the first period swung the momentum
The Buffalo Sabres started fast in this game, and Tage Thompson had a shot hit off the post in about the first 10 seconds. The Sabres continued to keep pressure on early and even took a 1-0 lead on Mattias Samuelsson's goal.
However, the final 10 minutes of the period were all Blue Jackets as they would score three straight and take a 3-1 lead into the first intermission.
The Sabres would cut the lead to one on two separate occasions in the final two periods, but could never overcome this stretch to get the lead back.
Power play still a work in progress for the Sabres
Over the past two seasons, the power play has been a problem for the Buffalo Sabres, and the hope was that this season might be different. They were hoping to take a different approach and even had former player Eric Staal working with the group.
Unfortunately, it was more of the same for the Sabres as they went 0-for-5 on power play opportunities in this game, including two minutes of 5-on-3, but somehow only mustered five power play shots on goal.
There are plenty of reasons why the Sabres lost this game against the Columbus Blue Jackets but their inability on the power play is one of the top reasons.
There are still 83 games left this season
It certainly would have been great for the Buffalo Sabres to start the season with a win, but it is a long season. The Sabres were never going to go 84-0, and this is only one regular season game. The Sabres entered this game dealing with a shortened training camp, fewer preseason games, and juggling numerous injuries over this time frame.
There are things they will need to work on, but fortunately, they have time to correct some of these issues. Ideally, that starts on Saturday, when they have their home opener against the Chicago Blackhawks.
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