Formatting corrected October 2, 2026 at 11:58 AM ET. Original pregame statistics and selections have been preserved.
Preview for Thursday, October 1, 2026. Schedule and player information can change.
Buffalo Sabres at Columbus Blue Jackets
Buffalo Sabres visit the Columbus Blue Jackets with a start time listed in the schedule feed as Thursday, October 1 at 7:00 PM ET. Starting-goalie confirmation is not available for this game, so there is no goaltending comparison to draw between the two sides.
Rotowire lists several injury statuses. For Buffalo, Alex Lyon is listed as Day-To-Day, Mattias Samuelsson is listed as IR, and Jack Rathbone is listed as IR-NR. For Columbus, Mikael Pyyhtia, Riley Bezeau and Caleb MacDonald are each listed as IR-NR. These are source reports of status only and do not say anything about availability or impact in this game.
No team offence, run-prevention or shot-share figures are provided for either club, so the available information does not allow a numbers-based lean toward the Sabres or the Blue Jackets.
No rated WP selection is available in this article snapshot.
Predictions are uncertain; no outcome is guaranteed. Check the picks page for the latest available selections.