Sabres Stumble Late as Blue Jackets Steal 4–3 Overtime Win in Buffalo

For two periods, it looked like the Buffalo Sabres had fought their way back from an uninspired start to reclaim control at the KeyBank Center. But after surrendering a late third-period equalizer and an overtime winner, Buffalo walked away Tuesday night with just one point in a 4–3 overtime loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The night began sluggishly for the Sabres, who struggled mightily in the first period. Columbus’ Yegor Chinakhov opened the scoring at 13:51 after a brutal unforced turnover by Owen Power in front of the Buffalo net. Buffalo mustered just one meaningful scoring chance in the frame, as Alex Lyon kept the game from getting out of hand with several quality saves.

Buffalo found its stride in the second period, outskating and outshooting Columbus while finally sustaining offensive zone pressure. Josh Doan buried his first goal of the night midway through the period, cleaning up his own rebound to tie the game 1–1. Minutes later, Ryan McLeod put the Sabres ahead 2–1 after a shot deflected off a Columbus defender and past goaltender Jet Greaves.

But the Sabres couldn’t escape the period without damage — Columbus defenseman Zach Werenski tied the game at 2–2 with a power-play goal in the final 30 seconds, just after an interference penalty to Alex Tuch. Tensions boiled over at the horn, leading to a full-team scrum along the boards.

Buffalo came out with renewed energy in the third. Josh Dunne scored his first career NHL goal off a deflection to restore the lead at 3–2. The Sabres appeared poised to close it out until Miles Wood struck for Columbus at 6:05 to even things again. From there, Buffalo looked gassed, and Columbus controlled possession in the closing minutes to force overtime.

In the extra frame, the Sabres’ opportunities slipped away — most notably when Juri Kulich missed a wide-open breakaway. Moments later, Wood struck again at 3:00 of overtime to end it, sending Buffalo to 4–4–2 on the season.

Alex Lyon was strong despite the loss, stopping 35 of 39 shots and bailing the Sabres out of several defensive lapses early. Offensively, Doan, McLeod, and Dunne provided the scoring. The Sabres middle frame showed signs of the balanced offense they’ve been searching for. Tage Thompson extended his point total to eight points in nine games, and Zach Benson added an assist, maintaining his steady production with seven assists in six games.

The defeat marked another frustrating night for a Sabres team that continues to battle inconsistency. Despite the inconsistency, Buffalo looked strong in the second and third periods and this team is showing real signs of life. Still, the power play faltered on multiple chances with the first being particularly ugly, and unforced turnovers once again proved costly.

Buffalo will look to regroup before traveling to Boston on Thursday night to take on the Bruins in another Eastern Conference matchup.