Blue Jackets Shutout by Sabres 4-0 in the second season game – The Hockey Writers Columbus Blue Jackets Latest News, Analysis and more

The Columbus Blue Jackets played their second pre-season match of 2025-26 on Monday evening. Unlike Sunday evening, they could not insult.

Bowen Byyram and Beck Malenstyn scored less than four minutes apart in the second period to lift the Sabres A 4-0 shutout from the Blue Jackets.

In the end, the story of this game on both sides was the goalkeepers.

Summary

The Blue Jackets started the game strongly. They surpassed the Sabres 8-4 and had the opportunities in general better. They were unable to resolve the goalkeeper of Sabres Alexandar Georgiev, who was recently signed by the team in the light of a small injury to Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.

Georgiev played the first two periods and stopped all 16 shots with which he was confronted before he made way for Devon Levi. Levi stopped all six shots with which he was confronted in the third.

The goals of Byyram and Malenstyn gave the momentum to the Sabres for the rest of the night. They added goals of the third period by Jack Quinn and Konsta Helenius to make the final score 4-0.

Elvis Merzlikins and Jet Greaves split the game. Head coach Dean Evason said he liked the game of both goalkeepers. Merzlikins stopped 8 out of 10 while Greaves 23 of 24 stopped.

“We thought both boys were really good,” said Evason. “Elvis could not do anything on the second and did not see the first. But he made some real good rescues. It was also very calm in his half game. So happy with the start for both.”

Greaves spoke about what he focuses on when he gets playing time in the preseason to be ready for the regular season.

“I think that from my perspective, I think it’s really just in those game situations. Seeing the traffic. Seeing the players develop the rushes and zone and even the breakouts and things like that. I just come back in the current of the game situations that I think is super important. It is nice to be back to play on it again.”

Newcomer Isac Lundrom made the debut of his Blue Jackets. He believes they can build on at the start of Monday’s match.

“I think we specifically started really well in the first period,” said Lundstrom. “I think we had many opportunities early on and had to score on a few. So I think our first period is something to go on.”

This time the Blue Jackets and Sabres play again in Buffalo on Tuesday evening.