{"id":476899,"date":"2025-10-28T11:08:38","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T15:08:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=476899"},"modified":"2025-10-28T11:08:38","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T15:08:38","slug":"blue-jacketss-vs-buffalo-sabres","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2025\/10\/28\/blue-jacketss-vs-buffalo-sabres\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Predictions: October 28 Columbus Blue Jackets vs Buffalo Sabres"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome back to another edition of NHL Predictions, with us here at\u00a0Last Word On Hockey<\/em>. Tuesday evening’s game between the Buffalo Sabres\u00a0<\/a>and the Columbus Blue Jackets<\/a> features two young teams that are desperate for a playoff berth this season. Both teams are on long playoff droughts, and fans as restless to say the least. This will be the first meeting between the two teams this year. With both teams within a point of each other in the standings, one of these teams will leave the game with a record above .500.<\/p>\n

NHL Predictions and the Blue Jackets vs the Sabres<\/h2>\n

2024-25 Season Series<\/strong>: Columbus 2-1 Buffalo.<\/p>\n

Time:<\/strong> 6:45 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)<\/p>\n

How to Watch:<\/a> MSG-B, FDSNOH, ESPN+<\/h3>\n

Location:<\/strong> Keybank Center, Buffalo<\/span><\/p>\n

Both of these teams are about dead even in the standings. The Sabres are 4-4-1, and the Blue Jackets are 4-4 so far this season. Both teams are desperate to get out on the right foot this year. And a win in this game, one team will fall ahead and one will fall below .500. Columbus is coming off a shootout win against the Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a>. And the Sabres are coming off a weekend home-and-home series with the Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a>. The Sabres took three of four points that weekend.<\/p>\n

Reinforcements for Buffalo<\/h4>\n

Buffalo’s last game saw starting goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen<\/a> return from injury. His one game left some play to be desired, but it’s good to see the number one goaltender healthy. They will also get defenceman Michael Kesselring<\/a> back from injury. He was injured during preseason play and has not played a regular-season game yet this season. The Sabres made a splash this summer, acquiring him and Josh Doan<\/a> in exchange for<\/a> JJ Peterka<\/a>. The Sabres’ defence is doing statistically well after their horrendous 0-3 start. And adding Kesselring to the mix should only help.<\/p>\n

Point Leaders<\/h4>\n

Columbus is led by Dmitri Voronkov<\/a> with 9 total points. He has scored five goals and four assists. In Buffalo, Tage Thompson<\/a> leads the way with four goals and four assists. Both of these teams have struggled to score goals this year. Columbus has scored 25 goals in 8 games (3.13 per game). And the Sabres have scored 27 goals in 9 games (3.00 per game). The Sabres’ offence is trending in the right direction. For context, they scored 2 total goals in their first 3 games. Both Rasmus Dahlin<\/a> and Zach Werenski<\/a> are unsung heroes of their team. Both defencemen have played well enough to earn Norris consideration on porous teams. Dahling has 7 points to start the year, while Werenski only has 4.<\/p>\n

Special Teams<\/h4>\n

The Sabres’ power play percentage needs context for how successful it is right now. They started the year 0-11 on the power play. They are now 7-30. That means they went 7-19 on the power play in their last six games. That’s an insane turnaround since the start of the year. Their total power play percentage is 23.3%, a significant upgrade from the Blue Jackets. Their operating at just 15% to start the season. The Sabres definitely have an edge in this category, and it doesn’t end there.<\/p>\n

The Sabres have the top-ranked penalty kill in the league at the moment. Operating at 93.9% to start the year. And Columbus has the lowest-ranked penalty kill so far. Just 60.7% killing penalties. The Sabres will need to take advantage of their special teams if they want to win this game.<\/p>\n

Goalies<\/h3>\n

Buffalo\u2019s Goalie Depth a \u201cGood Problem\u201d to Have<\/h4>\n

The Buffalo Sabres have found themselves in a rare position \u2014 a three-goaltender setup that\u2019s working in their favour. What started as a necessity has quickly turned into a strength.<\/p>\n

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen<\/a> entered the season as the presumed starter, with veteran Alex Lyon<\/a> brought in to provide reliable depth. The plan was to keep Devon Levi<\/a> starting in Rochester, Buffalo\u2019s AHL affiliate, and to sign Colten Ellis<\/a> as the backup there during Luukkonen\u2019s absence due to injury<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fast forward to now, and the Sabres\u2019 crease is crowded \u2014 in the best way possible. Lyon has been excellent to start the year, posting a .923 save percentage across seven games, giving the Sabres consistency and confidence between the pipes. Ellis, in his lone NHL appearance, was stellar \u2014 with a .935 save percentage and allowing just two goals. With Luukkonen easing his way back from injury, there\u2019s no immediate pressure to rush anything.<\/p>\n

Luukkonen made his return Saturday night in Toronto, so it\u2019s likely Lyon or Ellis will get the nod tonight. Either way, the Sabres are in good hands \u2014 every goaltender has given the team a legitimate chance to win.<\/p>\n

Columbus Steady in Net as Well<\/p>\n

On the other side, the Columbus Blue Jackets are also getting strong performances from their tandem. Elvis Merzlikins<\/a> and Jet Greaves<\/a> have split duties evenly, each starting four games.<\/p>\n

Greaves owns a .903 save percentage with a 2.79 goals-against average, while Merzlikins has been just as solid, posting a .915 save percentage and a 2.96 goals-against average. For a young Blue Jackets team, that kind of stability in goal is invaluable.<\/p>\n

Both clubs enter this matchup with confidence in their crease \u2014 and whichever goaltender starts, they\u2019ll have the ability to keep their team in the game from puck drop to final horn.<\/p>\n

Prediction & Key Outcomes<\/h3>\n

The Sabres are playing really well in their recent stretch of games. After starting 0-3, they went 4-1-1 to get back to .500. That momentum will carry over to a team that has not looked good on special teams. The Sabres are also riding a four-game home winning streak. They’ve convinced the fans their serious. They just need to convince them they can stay serious.<\/p>\n

The prediction:\u00a0Buffalo Sabres 5 \u2013 Columbus Blue Jackets 3<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n

Best Prop Bets to Watch<\/strong><\/h3>\n

We like for any time goal, to select\u00a0Tage Thompson<\/a>. He scored twice in the last away game against Toronto. He has the hot stick in Buffalo. For fun, take Michael Kesselring<\/a> anytime assist. He will be eager to play his first game in Buffalo. And lastly, Josh Doan<\/a> has been a net front monster for the Sabres on the power play. Look for him to score on the man advantage.<\/p>\n

Main photo by: Russell LaBounty-Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Please play responsibly, check for your local rules and age restrictions; some jurisdictions require ages 21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome back to another edition of NHL Predictions, with us here at\u00a0Last Word On Hockey. Tuesday evening’s game between the Buffalo Sabres\u00a0and the Columbus Blue Jackets features two young teams that are desperate for a playoff berth this season. Both teams are on long playoff droughts, and fans as restless to say the least. This […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5508,"featured_media":438301,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,11,4547,4548,4524],"tags":[6254,6083,1434,8048],"class_list":["post-476899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sabres","category-bluejackets","category-hockey","category-nhl","category-nhl-predictions","tag-buffalo-sabres-predictions","tag-columbus-blue-jackets-predictions","tag-elvis-merzlikins","tag-michael-kesselring"],"modified_by":"Dan Mount, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5508"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=476899"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476899\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":476935,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476899\/revisions\/476935"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/438301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=476899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=476899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=476899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}