Blue Jackets Light the Lamp Early, Cruise Past Buffalo to Cash Our +1.5

Columbus wasted no time turning opening night into a statement, jumping out to a commanding lead and never looking back in a 6-3 shellacking of the Sabres. Our Blue Jackets +1.5 cashed comfortably—frankly, it was never in doubt after the first period.

We called this one a coin flip on paper, citing balanced rosters and marginal goaltending edges. Turns out Jet Greaves and the Columbus offense had other ideas. The Blue Jackets potted goals in bunches, building cushion early and forcing Buffalo to chase all night. By the time the Sabres managed three of their own, it was damage control, not a comeback.

Buffalo's Colten Ellis—whom we flagged as the slightly cooler netminder—couldn't stem the tide, and the Sabres' 3.451 goals-per-game projection looked optimistic against a motivated home side. Columbus didn't just cover the spread; they blew past it, validating the home-ice advantage we leaned on when the stats screamed "toss-up."

Season openers are chaos by nature, but sometimes the market gets it right for the wrong reasons. We took the plus-money cushion, Columbus took care of business, and we're 1-0 to start the year. Not a bad way to kick things off—even if we undersold how lopsided this one would get.