3 Takeaways From the Sabres’ 6-3 Loss to the Blue Jackets

The 2026-27 season is here for the Buffalo Sabres, beginning with a game on the road against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Both teams have something to prove, though for entirely different reasons. The Sabres are looking for a hot start in the face of some adversity while the Blue Jackets got their first look at Matthew Knies (spoiler: he was great).

The Sabres fell behind early and, though they fought back, couldn’t close the gap. There were a few good things and a bit of bad as they dropped a 6-3 decision to the Blue Jackets. Here are the three biggest takeaways.

Owen Power Elevates His Game

Perhaps the brightest spot was the play of Owen Power. With injuries on defense, it was pretty clear that the Sabres would be leaning heavily on Power, Rasmus Dahlin, and Mattias Samuelsson early in in the season. Power benefitted with the second-most ice time for the Sabres at 25:25.

Power had a pair of assists and played with a calmness that really started coming to the surface last season. He is smooth with the puck, an effortless skater who can push the play up the ice as he did on the first goal.

He won’t have to be the bona fide No.1 with Dahlin around but it feels like Power is on the cusp of being an excellent defenseman. His play is definitely a positive, and the Sabres are going to lean on him early on.

A Forgettable Game From Luukkonen

It was initially a question mark as to whether Luukkonen would play, though the Sabres got a positive injury update regarding he and Samuelsson ahead of the opener. That is where the positivity regarding Luukkonen ends.

He was simply not good against the Blue Jackets, giving up five goals on 22 shots. It’s hard to fault him for the second goal – a wide-open one-timer in the slot from Knies – but multiple times he had a clear sight line and the chance to square up and was beaten soundly. That said, he did have some fantastic stops, including one against Knies on a breakaway.

Luukkonen’s M.O. in the past has been his streakiness. There are times when he looks cool and unflappable, while other times he’s letting in bad goals. He needs to find some consistency to his game sooner rather than later.

The Resiliency Is Still There

One of the positive aspects of last season was that the Sabres were never out of games. Even when they fell behind, they would battle back until the end. That was very much the case against the Blue Jackets on Thursday night.

The forward logjam was answered partially by injuries and there were several bright spots. Jack Quinn showed excellent patience on his goal and Konsta Helenius had a beautiful one-time snipe to make it 4-3. There were some positive things to take away offensively.

Defensively, they need to be better in front of the net. Knies, in particular, wreaked havoc and made life tougher on Luukkonen. The speed and skill are still apparent, and playing at home in front of a hot crowd on Saturday could be an immediate salve.

Move on, Get Better

The Sabres get a young Chicago Blackhawks struggling out of the gate on Saturday night, so it is an excellent chance to get right. They will need to do so because the next five is brutal: the Minnesota Wild, Dallas Stars, Utah Mammoth, and Florida Panthers at home, then the Montreal Canadiens on the road. It will be a serious test early on to tell us more about who this Sabres team is.