Thursday October 9, 2014

First Niagara Center in Buffalo

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On Thursday night, the Columbus Blue Jackets will be visiting the Buffalo Sabres in each team's first game of the season. Last year, the Blue Jackets won two of their three games against the Sabres.

Columbus finished fourth in the Metropolitan Division with 93 points and ended up getting beaten by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the playoffs. Their best overall player last year was goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who had a .923 save percentage and won 32 games. Young center Ryan Johansen led the Blue Jackets in both goals (33) and points (63).

The Blue Jackets didn't lose any key pieces over the offseason, but they were able to bolster their offense by adding Scott Hartnell. The 31-year-old left wing had 52 points in 78 games for the Philadelphia Flyers last season.

Last year, Buffalo had just 21 wins during the season and finished with by far the lowest point total (52) in the Metropolitan Division. One of the few players that did well for them was 23-year-old center Cody Hodgson, who had 20 goals and 24 assists. Fellow center Tyler Ennis led the Sabres with 21 goals last season.

One thing to watch out for with the Sabres this season is how Jhonas Enroth does as the team's new number one option. If he does well, there's a good chance that the Sabres will improve.

Injuries to Watch

Columbus Blue Jackets

10/06/14 C Artem Anisimov Undisclosed "?" Thursday vs. Buffalo
10/06/14 C Brandon Dubinsky Undisclosed "?" Thursday vs. Buffalo
10/05/14 RW Nathan Horton Back out indefinitely
10/02/14 C Boone Jenner Hand expected to miss 5 weeks
09/26/14 D Ryan Murray Knee out indefinitely

Buffalo Sabres

No injuries to report at this time

Josh's Pick: Take Columbus

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