The Buffalo Sabres have seven games left in the NHL regular season and their list of potential first-round postseason foes is still 10 teams deep.
That illustrates how crowded the Eastern Conference standings remain heading into the stretch run of the 2025-26 campaign. While uncertainty rules the day, the Sabres would probably be willing to take on the prime 1970s Montreal Canadiens. The franchise is just happy to make a long-awaited return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs after a 14-year drought, the longest streak in league history.
Buffalo hasn't officially clinched a berth yet, but it's on the verge as Tuesday night's win over the New York Islanders dropped the club's magic number to three. A win over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday would secure a spot in the East field since it's a four-point swing game.
Although it's going to take a little longer to determine who the Sabres will battle in the opening round, there are a handful of possible opponents they'd be better off avoiding, especially as the Blue and Gold attempt to embark on a deep playoff run.
4. Ottawa Senators
The Senators have hit an ill-timed lull, dropping their last three games, but the underlying numbers continue to point toward the Sens being one of the NHL's best teams.
Ottawa ranks third in the league in both 5-on-5 expected goal share (xGF%) at 54.5% and scoring chance share at 54.9%, according to Natural Stat Trick. Despite some up-and-down play recently, it still ranks in the top five of both categories since the Olympic break, too.
Yes, the Senators have endured some struggles between the pipes, as illustrated by sitting dead last in team save percentage (.877) this season. Nevertheless, starter Linus Ullmark is a Vezina Trophy winner with a career .914 SV%.
If Ullmark can suddenly find top form and the Sens' play otherwise remains elite, Ottawa instantly becomes a team no East contender, including the Sabres, wants to face early in the postseason.
3. Columbus Blue Jackets
Like Ottawa, Columbus has cooled off at the most inopportune moment with five losses in its past six outings. Before that, however, the Blue Jackets were rivaling the Sabres as the hottest team in the NHL with a 20-3-4 record over their prior 27 contests.
The Jackets feature a Norris Trophy contender in Zach Werenski, who's one of the league's premier play-drivers, and a deep group of offensive contributions. They have 10 players who's reached double-digit goals, which allows head coach Rick Bowness to roll at least three lines with confidence.
Columbus also has its own goaltender who can steal games in Jet Greaves. The 25-year-old netminder is one of the brightest rising stars a the position with a .914 SV% through 70 career games, and he's already led the Jackets to a pair of wins over Buffalo this season.
In fact, the Blue Jackets have won four of their past five games against the Sabres dating back to the 2024-25 campaign.
2. Montreal Canadiens
A team's form heading into the playoffs is one of the most important factors in determining a Stanley Cup champion, and no club is hotter than the Canadiens.
Montreal has rattled off six consecutive victories by a combined score of 25-9. That's dominance, and it hasn't come against cupcakes, either. The Habs have defeated the Carolina Hurricanes twice and the Tampa Bay Lightning once during the hot streak.
The Canadiens feature one of the NHL's best young cores, led by Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Ivan Demidov and Lane Hutson, and they have a slight advantage over the Sabres by gaining some playoff experience last year, though they were knocked out by the Washington Capitals in the first round.
If goalie Jakub Dobes, who's posted a .942 SV% over his last nine starts, maintains his current level, the Habs are a true championship threat.
1. Tampa Bay Lightning
Although it's unlikely, a first-round meeting between the Sabres and Bolts is still possible due to the Canadiens' surge toward the top of the Atlantic.
Tampa Bay, like Buffalo, has been forced to overcome a seemingly endless string of injuries throughout the season, but it's getting healthy at the right time. It's also moved past a little post-Olympic dip while posting a 6-2-2 record over its past 10 contests.
Nikita Kucherov has been nothing short of extraordinary with 121 points in 68 games and, while many of the East's other title hopefuls are hoping their young goalies can thrive on the playoff stage, the Lightning have the ultimate proven commodity between the pipes in Andrei Vasilevskiy.
When healthy, the Bolts are still the most complete team in the conference and potentially the league. That's why Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic gives Tampa a 31% chance to reach the Stanley Cup Final. No other team in the East has higher than 8.7% odds to survive the gauntlet (Carolina).
Ultimately, while there are certainly some dangerous wild-card teams, the Lightning and Habs would represent a substantial threat to cut the Sabres' postseason run significantly short.
That's why trying to hunt down the Atlantic Division title is so important for Buffalo. Avoiding both Tampa and Montreal in the first round (and instead making them play each other in Round 1) would provide a serious boost.