Cole Sillinger(1), Matthew Knies(1-PPG,2), Adam Fantilli(1), Sean Monahan(1-PPG), and Mathieu Olivier(1-ENG) powered the Blue Jackets offense to a 6-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night. Jet Greaves made 23 saves on 26 Sabres shots to secure his first win of the season.
Newcomer Matthew Knies had himself a night, which included two beautiful goals and an assist. Emil Andrae set up Knies for his second goal and looked really good in his CBJ debut as well.
The story of the night was definitely special teams. The power play scored twice on three tries, and the penalty kill was perfect, stopping all 5 Sabres man advantages. That included a full two-minute 5-on-3 chance.
The defense, which included two news guys, Soucy and Andrae, played great. At some points in the third period, Rick Bowness also rolled with 5 defensemen, as Jake Christiansen played very little. They will need Damon Severson, Ivan Provorov, and Dante Fabbro back ASAP.
Team Notes Per CBJ PR
- The six goals scored by Columbus tonight are the second-most scored in a season opening game all-time (8-2 W vs. ARI, 10/14/2021) and the fourth time the club has scored five or more goals (10/10/2008 at DAL; 10/6/2017 vs. NYI).
- The Jackets scored on two of three power play opportunities (2-for-3, 66.7 pct.), marking the 10th time in franchise history the club has scored multiple times on the power play in the season opening game (MR: 2-for-3; Oct. 14, 2021 vs. ARI).
- Columbus was perfect on the penalty kill tonight, stopping all five of Buffalo’s man-advantages and has now shut down 23-straight Sabres power-play attempts in the last nine matchups (23-of-23, 100 pct.).
- The Blue Jackets led 3-1 after the first period over the Sabres. The club outscored its opponents 83-to-63 (+20 G/D) in the first period during the 2025-26 season.
- Columbus skated in front of a sold-out crowd of 18,207. The club skated in front of 16 sellout crowds during the 2025-26 season.
Player Notes Per CBJ PR
- With three skaters recording points in their Blue Jackets debut (Andrae, Knies, Nichushkin), it marks only the second time in franchise history (outside of the team’s inaugural game in 2000-01) of three-plus players recording points in their team debut (5-4 OTW at Dallas on Oct. 10, 2008 - Kristian Huselius, Christian Backman, R.J. Umberger and Jakub Voracek).
- Emil Andrae (0-1-1, 1 GP) made his Blue Jackets debut and collected an assist on Knies’ second goal of the evening.
- Charlie Coyle (0-3-3, 1 GP) notched three assists in the victory. He tied his single-season best in helpers last season after collecting 18-38-56 in 82 contests while also posting 13 multi-point efforts (seven instances of three-plus points). He improved to 10-17-27 in 39 career games against the Sabres, including nine multi-point games, and has picked up 4-7-11 in the last 11 matchups against the club.
- Jet Greaves (1-0-0, 1 GP) improved to 5-1-0 in six career games played against the Sabres with a 2.60 goals-against average and .919 save percentage.
- Matthew Knies (2-1-3, 1 GP) made his Blue Jackets debut, scoring two goals and assisting on another to tie Artemi Panarin (0-3-3 on 10/6/2017) for the franchise record in points in a team debut. He is the 27th skater in franchise history to score in his team debut and the first in franchise history to record multiple tallies. The forward posted 19 multi-point efforts during the 2025-26 season with the Toronto Maple Leafs and tallied a career-high in assists and points (23-43-66, 79 GP).
- Valeri Nichushkin (0-1-1, 1 GP) made his Blue Jackets debut and collected his first point with an assist on Monahan’s power play goal.
- Zach Werenski (0-2-2, 1 GP) tallied two helpers in the opening period for his first multi-point effort of the campaign. The defending Norris Trophy winner set the franchise record for multi-point performances with 26 last season.
Final Stats
CBJ APPPlayer Stats & Notes
- Cole Sillinger had a goal and was a plus-2 on the night.
- Matthew Knies had 2 goals, an assist, and had 4 shots.
- Adam Fantilli had a goal and six hits. He also won 80% of his faceoffs.
- Sean Monahan scored his first goal.
- Mathieu Olivier scored a goal, had a fight, and 3 hits.
- Charlie Coyle had 3 assists.
- Zach Werenski had 2 assists and was a plus-2.
- Dmitri Voronkov had an assist and 6 hits.
- Val Nichushkin had an assist.
- Kent Johnson recorded his first assist.
- Denton Mateychuk tallied an assist.
- Emil Andrae recorded his first point as a Blue Jacket.
- Jet Greaves made 23 saves on 26 shots.
Team Stats
- The Jackets went 2/3 on the power play.
- The Columbus PK stopped all 5 Buffalo power plays.
- Columbus won 55.4% of the faceoffs - 36/65
- The Blue Jackets had 25 hits and 15 blocks.
Next Up For Columbus: The Blue Jackets take on the Utah Mammoth on Saturday at Nationwide Arena.
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