Matthew Knies needed one night in Columbus to put his stamp on the Blue Jackets. The winger scored twice, added an assist and matched the club record for points in a debut as Columbus opened its season with a 6-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres at Nationwide Arena on Thursday.
Knies arrived from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday in the six-player deal that sent Kirill Marchenko the other way. Against Buffalo, he gave the Blue Jackets a new finishing look around the net and helped turn a tight first period into a three-goal Columbus lead.
Charlie Coyle set up three goals in his Blue Jackets debut, Zach Werenski collected two assists, and Jet Greaves stopped 23 shots. For Buffalo, Mattias Samuelsson, Jack Quinn and Konsta Helenius scored, while Owen Power and Noah Ostlund each posted two assists. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 16 saves.
After the horn
Buffalo struck first during 4-on-4 play at 7:21 of the opening period. Samuelsson’s shot from the high slot changed direction off Columbus defenseman Denton Mateychuk’s stick and beat Greaves for a 1-0 Sabres lead.
The Blue Jackets answered at 12:51 when Cole Sillinger took Coyle’s drop pass and fired in a shot from the left hash marks.
Knies put Columbus ahead for good with 2:02 left in the first. Working on the power play, he hammered a Coyle feed from the slot for a 2-1 lead. Adam Fantilli made it 3-1 only 46 seconds later.
Fantilli’s goal came in his first game action of the season after a shortened camp. He did not appear in preseason games while awaiting a new contract, then signed a six-year, $82.5 million deal on Sept. 24. The agreement carries a $13.75 million average annual value.
Quinn brought Buffalo back within one just 1:25 into the second period, finishing from the left circle. The Sabres then had a lengthy chance to level the game, including two minutes with a two-man edge, but Columbus survived the penalty kill.
Knies made Buffalo pay shortly afterward. At 7:45 of the middle frame, he redirected a puck past Luukkonen to restore the two-goal cushion at 4-2.
The two-goal performance made Knies the first player to score multiple times in his Blue Jackets debut. His three-point night also tied Artemi Panarin for the most points by a Columbus player in a first appearance with the club; Panarin had three assists on Oct. 6, 2017.
Helenius kept the Sabres in the game when he converted a one-timer from low in the left circle at 13:14 of the second, cutting the deficit to 4-3.
Columbus closed the door in the third. Sean Monahan scored on the power play at 14:21, then Mathieu Olivier hit the empty net with 2:07 remaining to complete the 6-3 final.
