Yesterday during the start of NHL free agency, each team had their home opener released and the full schedule would be released the next day (today). For the Buffalo Sabres, their home opener was October 10th against the Los Angeles Kings. At noon, the entire 82 game schedule dropped. Here is a breakdown for the month of October.
The blue and gold will be in Prague to start the regular season as they will play the New Jersey Devils twice. After playing overseas, the Sabres will host the Kings. A couple of days later, the Stanley Cup champions Florida Panthers will make their way into KeyBank Center.
For the following week, Buffalo will be on the road for a three game trip. After a back-to-back against Pittsburgh and Columbus, the Sabres will face Chicago before coming home. To close out the month, it will be a three game home stand. The blue and gold will host Dallas, Detroit and the Panthers before turning the page to November.
Out of the eight games they will play, four are against playoff teams from last season. Seeing the Panthers twice is no bueno, but the good news is they won't see the defending Cup champs until March when Buffalo travels to Florida.
The month is like a pattern for Buffalo. With two games against a non-playoff team, the next two games will be against playoff teams. For the next three, non-playoff teams while two of the last three games at the end of the month will be teams who were in the postseason.
Depending on what happens between now and then, who knows how things will play out. Regardless, it's not an easy schedule. Excluding the two games against the Devils, Buffalo will have five home games in October, giving the fans a good look at the team to start 2024/2025.