A great day by the Sabres’ power play offset a poor day by the team’s penalty-kill unit.
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Ristolainen opened the scoring on a power play at 2:33 of the second period after the line of Eichel, Evander Kane and Marcus Foligno pressured Columbus and drew a hooking penalty on Nick Foligno. Bobrovsky denied Cody Franson’s slap shot and Jamie McGinn’s rebound jab midway through the second. The goal gave Buffalo its first lead of the season. Left winger Scott Hartnell connected from close range on a feed from center Ryan Johansen.Moulson made it 4-2 with his first of the year on the power play with 4:13 remaining. Four of their six goals have come on the power play, a disturbing sign for a team that aims to be rat-level pesky. As he headed to get a new one, he peeled the jersey off on the ice like he was Rob Ray in the 1990s. That goal was just one of three that would come on the power play tonight.
Although the Blue Jackets were flat out crushed in games against the Rangers, the Sabres are just not a good hockey team. Ryan O’Reilly recorded both his first goal and his first assist as a member of the Buffalo Sabres, while interim starter Chad Johnson stopped 22 of 24 shots taken at him en route to a. 917 SV%. Sabres right winger Brian Gionta sat out because of a lower-body injury, and defenceman Carlo Colaiacovo was a healthy scratch….
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They’ll play three of their next four games at home, but after that, they approach a harrowing stretch of seven out of eight games on the road starting on October. 22. They visit the Florida Panthers at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and meet the Tampa Bay Lightning for the second time this season at 7 p.m. Saturday.
