Well that didn’t go exactly as planned… The Buffalo Sabres opened the year with a loss on the road in Columbus. It wasn’t all bad but there wasn’t a great deal to write home about either. Here are my five takeaways from Game 1 of 84.

The Buffalo Sabres open their regular season tonight on Thursday, Oct. 1, when they travel to Columbus to face the Blue Jackets. After hitting the 50‑win mark and capturing the Atlantic Division for the first time in 20 years last season, the team enters 2026–27 looking to build on that success and push even further. The preseason wasn’t without challenges, as several key players dealt with injuries. Olen Zellweger, Mattias Samuelsson, Alex Lyon, Conor Timmins, Jiri Kulich, a