Two of the main reasons for the Buffalo Sabres' season-opening loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night came as no surprise: a dreadful power play and a lackluster performance from goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. Those are longstanding problems.
One issue was a bigger cause from concern: the penalty kill.
The Sabres finished fourth in the NHL in that category last season (81.9%), but they allowed the Blue Jackets to score twice in three attempts with the man advantage. That was the difference in a game decided by two goals until Columbus buried one in the open net.
"I think there'll be a little bit of pain early on, but there was a lot I liked in the preseason, and we just have to try to build off that," head coach Lindy Ruff told reporters.
Conor Timmins, who led Buffalo in penalty-killing ice time per game last season, is currently on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. Former PK fixtures Alex Tuch, Jordan Greenway and Bowen Byram all departed the organization in the offseason. So did Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn, who received PK time after being acquired in a midseason trade.
It's forced Ruff to do a lot of juggling while trying to find effective forward and defense tandems, a challenge made more difficult by a short training camp and just four preseason games. In addition, NHL veterans were only allowed to play in two of those exhibition contests.
The Sabres knew the power play remained a pain point, despite a wide-ranging summer effort from the team's analytics group trying to find answers, and the club's play between the pipes remains a question mark after a Connor Hellebuyck trade with the Winnipeg Jets remained elusive over the offseason.
Buffalo entered the new campaign knowing there was uncertainty in those areas. A significant drop off on the PK would start to sound some serious alarms, though. It'd be tough for the team to keep pace in the loaded Eastern Conference with both special teams units struggling.
It puts a lot of pressure on Ruff and his staff to find solutions. Josh Norris and Jack Quinn, a head-scratching forward duo used against Columbus on Thursday, probably isn't the answer. Expect to see some new PK looks from Buffalo in its home opener Saturday against the Chicago Blackhawks.
In the meantime, let's dive into our first edition of Sabres grades for the 2026-27 season.
Buffalo Sabres deliver sloppy performance in Oct. 1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets
Sabres Player Grades
Player | Grade (1-10) |
|---|---|
Jack Quinn | 8.5 |
Zach Benson | 8 |
Noah Ostlund | 8 |
Owen Power | 7.5 |
Mattias Samuelsson | 7 |
Josh Doan | 6.5 |
Tage Thompson | 6 |
Josh Norris | 6 |
Konsta Helenius | 6 |
Rasmus Dahlin | 5.5 |
Louis Crevier | 5.5 |
Ryan McLeod | 5.5 |
Jiri Kulich | 5 |
Zach Metsa | 4.5 |
Beck Malenstyn | 4 |
Sam Carrick | 4 |
Matt Grzelcyk | 3.5 |
Peyton Krebs | 2.5 |
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen | 2 |
Buffalo's Top Performer: Jack Quinn
Aside from the questionable deployment on the penalty kill, it was a strong outing for Quinn, who was often the Sabres' biggest standout in training camp. His work rate and complete level definitely appear to have gone up a notch or two over the summer.
The 25-year-old winger, who's scheduled to become a restricted free agent at season's end, consistently generated scoring chances, and he was rewarded by scoring a goal early in the second period. He nearly tied the game in the third but his shot hit the post after sneaking through Columbus netminder Jet Greaves.
Buffalo has long hoped Quinn, the No. 8 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, would eventually develop into a 30-goal scorer at hockey's highest level. He looks primed to make a serious push for that magic number if he can stay healthy this season.
That's great news for a Sabres club looking to replace Tuch's offensive production.
Sabres Quick Hits
- Owen Power and Louis Crevier played reasonably well together for most of the night on the second pair despite being on the ice for the first Columbus goal. Crevier needed to do more with a puck sent his way at center ice, which the Jackets recovered and capitalized on.
- Mattias Samuelsson scored Buffalo's first goal of the season. He looked no worse for wear after entering the day questionable to play with an injury suffered during the preseason. It'll be a massive boost to the Sabres' chances if he can produce a second straight year with 40-plus points.
- Konsta Helenius netted the other Sabres goal.
- It was a middling performance from the team's two cornerstones, Rasmus Dahlin and Tage Thompson. They didn't play particularly poorly but Dahlin was forcing plays too much, especially on the power play, and Thompson had some untimely turnovers. Tage also took a bad penalty in the first period.
- Peyton Krebs should be used more in defensive situations and, after signing his contract extension, it's unclear why he wasn't entrusted with some penalty-killing minutes.
- It'll be interesting to see whether the Sabres go back to UPL or opt to start Colten Ellis for the home opener against the Blackhawks.
- Buffalo and Chicago are scheduled for a 7 p.m. ET faceoff at the KeyBank Center on Saturday night.
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