Columbus Blue Jackets drop finale to Buffalo Sabres, gain second-best lottery odds
As hard as they tried, the Blue Jackets weren’t able to damage their odds for the May 8 NHL draft lottery any further in their final game.
Despite taking a 1-0 lead on Johnny Gaudreau’s goal 34 seconds after the puck dropped, the Jackets lost 5-2 to the Buffalo Sabres on Friday at Nationwide Arena to finish 31st in the league.
That spot gives them a 13.5% chance to win the first overall pick in the lottery's first of two draws, which rewards the winner with the right to select “generational talent” Connor Bedard of the Regina Pats of the junior-level Western Hockey League.
More: The race for last place: Where the Blue Jackets stand in the Connor Bedard sweepstakes
More: Three NHL draft prospects who could make it worth finishing last
“Right now, it’s tough,” Blue Jackets center Sean Kuralty said. “You come off another loss and it’s just disappointing. It’s a disappointment. You look back, you wish you could’ve done some things differently. You see how you handled some things and I guess you learned some lessons, some the hard way. A lot of nights with not a lot of sleep and with anger, stress and all the above. But we’re going to have some time off now, clear our heads and get back to it, have a plan and be ready to go for next season.”
Had the Blue Jackets lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday rather than rallying late to win 3-2 in overtime, the Blue Jackets would’ve finished last in the NHL (32nd) and gotten a 25.5% chance to win the first pick in the lottery.
The Jackets (59 points) settled for 31st in a game that could’ve pushed them past the San Jose Sharks (60 points) to 29th had they not lost to the Sabres (42-33-7). That would’ve reduced the odds to 9.5% for Columbus to win the “Bedard Sweepstakes.”
Buffalo made sure that didn’t happen thanks to three straight goals by Jeff Skinner, Victor Olofsson and Alex Tuch in the second period to build a 3-1 lead.
Rookie Tyler Angle’s first NHL goal pulled the Blue Jackets to 3-2 with 1:36 left in the second, but Casey Mittelstadt pushed it to 4-2 at 4:03 of the third before Peyton Krebs made it 5-2 on a goal that went off Columbus defenseman Billy Sweezey’s stick.
That was the last goal in a long, frustrating, injury-riddled season in Columbus.
“I’ve now seen Game 7 of the finals (in 2019 with the Boston Bruins) and now this, so I think it’s all the incentive in the world to never find yourself back here,” Kuraly said. “I didn’t know what this was like. We’re at the bottom. We’re at the bottom of the bottom, so I guess to get some perspective … you appreciate the ups, and you sure don’t want to be back here.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets fall to Buffalo Sabres to finish 31st
