Knies scores twice in debut as Blue Jackets beat Sabres
Matthew Knies recorded two goals and an assist in his first Columbus game as the Blue Jackets defeated Buffalo 6-3.
Matthew Knies marked his Columbus debut with two goals and an assist as the Blue Jackets beat the Buffalo Sabres 6-3 at Nationwide Arena on Thursday, Oct. 1.
Columbus acquired Knies from Toronto on Monday. He became the first player to score twice in his Blue Jackets debut, while his three points equalled Artemi Panarin's franchise debut record from Oct. 6, 2017.
Knies put Columbus ahead 2-1 with a power-play goal at 17:58 of the first period, then helped set up Adam Fantilli's goal 46 seconds later. After Jack Quinn reduced the lead early in the second period, Knies scored again at 7:45 to make it 4-2.
Cole Sillinger, Sean Monahan and Mathieu Olivier scored Columbus's other goals. Charlie Coyle finished with three assists and Zach Werenski with two. Jet Greaves made 23 saves; Buffalo goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen finished with 17, according to the NHL's official box score.
Mattias Samuelsson opened the scoring for Buffalo at 7:21 of the first period during 4-on-4 play. Sillinger answered at 12:51. Konsta Helenius later brought Buffalo within 4-3, but Monahan's power-play goal at 14:21 of the third and Olivier's empty-net goal at 17:53 sealed the result. Noah Ostlund and Owen Power each had two assists for the Sabres.
Knies said he had felt nervous before his first game with Columbus. "But it was nice to get one off my back," he said, according to The Associated Press.
