At the Horn | Sabres 6 - Blue Jackets 1

Zach Benson had a goal and an assist for the Buffalo Sabres in a 6-1 preseason victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets at KeyBank Center on Monday.

Owen Power, Peyton Krebs, Dylan Cozens, Mattias Samuelsson, and Nicolas Aube-Kubel all added goals for the Sabres, who improved to 2-0 in the preseason following a 7-3 win over the Penguins on Saturday. Devon Levi played the full game in goal and made 25 saves.

The Sabres continued to ice a roster featuring most of their NHL in preparation for the NHL Global Series. The group will have just one more exhibition tune-up against Red Bull Munich on Friday ahead of their regular-season opener against the New Jersey Devils in Prague, Czechia.

How it happened

Period 1

The Sabres struck first in the form of a 5-on-3 goal from Power, who scored for the second time in as many preseason games. JJ Peterka made a one-touch pass from the slot to earn the primary assist.

Mathieu Olivier responded for the Blue Jackets, pouncing on a loose puck in front after Levi was unable to cover his initial attempt from beside the net. The Blue Jackets finished the period with a 12-4 lead in shots.

Period 2

The Sabres pulled ahead on goals from Benson and Krebs, carrying a 3-1 lead into the second intermission.

Benson’s goal was the continuation of a trend from the Sabres’ preseason opener on Saturday – shots coming from the point with bodies in front of the net, ready to capitalize. This time, Henri Jokiharju shot from up high as Dylan Cozens battled in front. The puck deflected off of the net-front traffic toward Benson, who had a wide-open net.

Krebs added to the lead with 9:20 remaining in the period. Dennis Gilbert, making his preseason debut for the Sabres, delivered a stretch pass to Tage Thompson, who tapped the puck to Krebs as he crossed the blue line with speed. Krebs beat the goaltender with a shot to his glove side on the rush.

Period 3

Buffalo pulled away with three goals in the third period, beginning when Benson delivered a no-look, turnaround pass to set Cozens up alone in front for his second goal of the preseason.

Samuelsson scored next, winning a battle for a loose puck low in the offensive zone and burying a shot from the bottom of the right faceoff circle. Aube-Kubel added the sixth goal off his backhand, the product of a quick series of passes from Bowen Byram and Sam Lafferty.

Photo gallery

POSTGAME COMMENTS

Up next

The Sabres will split into two groups on Tuesday. The NHL squad will depart for Munich, Germany for the start of the NHL Global Series, which opens with an exhibition against Red Bull Munich on Friday.

The group remaining in Buffalo will play a preseason game in Pittsburgh on Tuesday night. That game will be streamed live on Sabres.com with commentary from the Penguins broadcast. Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray will have the radio call on WGR 550.