The Buffalo Sabres haven't qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2011 and their roster has dealt with an endless wave of injuries throughout training camp and the preseason. Yet, there's still an air of optimism around the team ahead of the 2025-26 season.
Daily Faceoff placed the Sabres in the "on the bubble" tier of its latest NHL power rankings ahead of the league's Opening Night on Tuesday. Buffalo opens the regular season Thursday when it welcomes the New York Rangers to the KeyBank Center.
"My biggest concern is their goaltending, both with how the injury to Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen affects them but also whether Luukkonen is even the real deal," Daily Faceoff's Scott Maxwell wrote. "I kind of like them as a dark-horse playoff candidate. Something something this year is our year."
The Sabres will require a significant jump to reach the postseason after missing the Eastern Conference's playoff cut line by 12 points in 2024-25.
Buffalo Sabres need a lot of things to fall perfectly into place to make the 2026 NHL Playoffs
Is it possible the Sabres bring an end to their 14-year playoff drought this season? Absolutely, but a lot of variables must go in their favor if that's going to become reality.
Goaltending is by far the most important factor, and that was the case even before UPL missed most of camp with one injury and then suffered a separate injury in his first preseason appearance.
Buffalo will open the campaign with Alex Lyon and Alexandar Georgiev splitting the work in net. Head coach Lindy Ruff will hope either Lyon or Georgiev proves worthy of a full starter's workload until Luukkonen is cleared to return.
If both Lyon and Georgiev struggle, and UPL remains sidelined for an extended period, the Sabres may turn to prospect Devon Levi as a last-ditch effort between the pipes. Levi has found success in the AHL but it's yet to translate to the NHL in limited opportunities.
That gives Buffalo four options to find some semblance of stability in goal throughout the campaign, and if it finds that, it'll have a chance to make a playoff push.
The Sabres will also need Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin to play at an All-Star level, both of their special teams units (power play and penalty kill) to improve significantly and a decent amount of internal improvement from young players.
Thompson has a shot to contend for the Rocket Richard Trophy as the NHL's leading goal-scorer, while Dahlin should end up near the top of Norris Trophy voting as the league's best blueliner.
It's not asking much for the power play (24th in the league last season at 18.8%) and penalty kill (23rd at 76.3%) to show at least modest improvement.
The Sabres also have a chorus of young players, led by Zach Benson, Owen Power, Jiri Kulich and Josh Doan, who are capable of taking their games to a new level in 2025-26.
So, all of the pieces in place for Buffalo to make that leap toward playoff contention, but getting so many things to work out at the same times is still a big ask.
It's worth pointing out a lot of projections from within the analytics community have been bullish about the Sabres throughout the preseason, so there's reason for renewed hope amid endless frustration.
A clearer outlook on Buffalo's campaign should be available within a few weeks because it opens the season with perhaps the most favorable stretch of schedule it'll face all year.