Jackets look like different team in 5-2 loss to Buffalo
By Dave Seaman, Columbus Wired

As training camp comes to an end this weekend, Columbus Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock is using the back-to-back games at Nationwide Arena to asses who is going to make the final cut.

The coach plans to reduce the roster to 25 or 26 players before the team’s final exhibition game in Toronto on Sunday. The final cuts will come Monday. His job became more challenging as the Jackets fell to Buffalo 5-2 Thursday night.

The game marked the National Hockey League debut of rookie Nikita Filatov, who missed the first part of training camp with a hairline fracture in his leg. The Russian logged 12 minutes, 17 minutes on the third line with center Michael Peca and Andrew Murray.

It was a moment he couldn’t wait for and he played with a lot of energy in the first period, but it faded as the game progressed.

“It’s so different because it’s so fast and so tough here,” Filatov said. “Of course I’m excited, but I don’t think it was my best game.”

Hitchcock said he was pleased with Filatov’s performance.

“He was good early,” the coach said. “He’s got great skill, great speed. I thought he did really well for a kid whose 18 years old that’s never played a game in North America. It’s a good start for him.”

Jiri Novotny and Rick Nash scored for Columbus, who lost for the first time on home ice in exhibition play.

Jackets goaltender Fredrik Norrena had a bad game, giving up several soft goals from long distances on break-a-aways. It was his worst performance of the preseason.

“Freddy didn’t play very well tonight and he knows it,” Hitchcock said. “It looked like some of the games he played last year. He wasn’t happy and neither were we, but he’ll bounce backs.”

In the evaluation process, the Jacket’s third line—Alexandre Picard, Novotny and Derek Dorsett—played the best according to Hitchcock. Their chemistry and energy led the first goal.

Novotny tapped in a loose puck on a rebound past goaltender Patrick Lalime at 3:03 to give the Jackets a 1-0 lead. The initial shot came from Marc Methot and was redirected by Dorsett.

The Sabres got the goal back with just over three minutes remaining in the first period when Jochen Hecht beat Norrena with a slap shot from the left faceoff circle.

Thomas Vanek gave Buffalo a 2-1 lead 6:48 into the second period on a break-a-way. Ales Kotlaik added a goal with a two-man advantage at 15:47.

“The second goal deflated us,” Hitchcock said. “I thought we made a lot of mistakes with the puck today. When we turned the puck over, we were in trouble.”

The game got chippy towards the end of the second period that saw Nash attempt to avoid Lalime. As Nash flew by him, he was attacked from behind and Lalime got in a few shots on Nash, who was already on the ice.

In the mean time a fight broke out between Ole-Kristian Tollefsen and Mike Webber. The kicker was that Nash still got the goaltender interference penalty.

“We were battling together, but we didn’t do a good enough job,” Tollefsen said. “We should have beaten this team.”

The penalty proved to be costly as Teppo Numminen scored on the ensuing power play to put the Sabres up 4-1 early in the third. Norrena got beat once again on a break at 9:04 of the third, this time by Nathan Gerbe.

Nash stopped the bleeding with a second-effort goal at 12:09.

After the game, Hitchcock mentioned that the line of Fredrik Modin-R.J. Umberger-Jake Voracek was not clicking and that he would talk to them.

Columbus hosts Minnesota tonight in the final home exhibition game.