The Buffalo Sabres are under massive pressure to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in 15 years. To do so, they're going to have to make the most of their games with their Atlantic Division rivals. And in this continuing THN.com series, we're analyzing Buffalo's chances against each of their seven Atlantic rivals.
We kicked off the process with an analysis of the Boston Bruins, and on Sunday, we focused on the Detroit Red Wings. In today's file, we're putting the back-to-back Cup-champion Florida Panthers under the spotlight.
BUFFALO SABRES VS. FLORIDA PANTHERS
NEW PANTHERS PLAYERS: Jeff Petry, D; Daniil Tarasov, G
2024-25 SERIES: Sabres 1-2-1, Panthers 3-1-0
2025-26 GAMES AGAINST EACH OTHER: October 18, at Buffalo; January 12 at Buffalo; February 2 at Florida; February 27 at Florida
CAN THE SABRES BEAT THIS TEAM? The Panthers weren't the best regular-season team in the Atlantic last year -- that would be the Toronto Maple Leafs -- but Florida dominated the Sabres, winning by a combined seven-goal total in two of their three victories over Buffalo. And had the Sabres beaten the odds and qualified for the 2025 post-season, does anyone really believe Buffalo would've been anything other than roadkill against a Panthers team that ate up every opponent they faced? No, we didn't think so.
That's why we believe the Sabres aren't going to have much hope against Florida this coming season. The Panthers managed to hold onto all three key UFA veterans they had to address this summer -- center Sam Bennett, winger Brad Marchand and defenseman Aaron Ekblad all re-signed at relative bargains, giving Florida's Atlantic rivals a sobering dose of reality as they all try to envision a year in which the Panthers aren't once again world-beaters.
Now, there are some different small elements that have changed for Florida. With the departure of veteran defenseman Nate Schmidt to Utah, Panthers GM Bill Zito went out and signed veteran Petry away from the Detroit Red Wings. The 37-year-old Petry may not have much left in the tank, but we have to defer to Zito's strengths as an asset-acquisition specialist and predict Petry will fit right in as a third-pair option who can chip in with a bit of offense.
Know Your Enemy, Sabres Edition: Can Buffalo Beat The Playoff-Desperate Detroit Red Wings?The Buffalo Sabres have completed most of their off-season moves this summer. We've examined the most-likely trade partners for Buffalo, and in this file, we're continuing our new THN.com series "Know Your Enemy, Sabres Edition". In this series, we're breaking down the Sabres' seven Atlantic Division rivals, focusing on what changes those seven teams have made, Buffalo's record against them last season, their games against each other this coming year, and our opinion of whether the team is one the Sabres should be beating next year.
Another difference for the Panthers is the addition of goalie Tarasov. The 26-year-old had poor numbers in Columbus last season (including an .881 save percentage and 3.54 goals-against average in 20 appearances), but something funny happens to goalies when they play behind Florida's relentless backcheck and their pressure in all zones -- those goalies almost always get better. And with star Sergei Bobrovsky entering the final year of his contract, we expect Bobrovsky is going to play the bulk of the games yet again.
The Panthers may be without star winger Matthew Tkachuk for a long stretch of the begininng of the regular-season, and the Sabres have one of their first games against Florida when they'll be without Tkachuk. So the Sabres need to make the most of that opportunity -- and brace themselves for the three games they've got against the Panthers from January through the rest of the regular season. By that point, Zito will probably have made his team even stronger, and that could be bad news for the Sabres down the stretch.
Unfortunately for Buffalo fans, not enough has improved on the Sabres end and nothing has declined on the Panthers end to give us an inkling that Buffalo is going to change the head-to-head battles we saw between the two teams this past season. The Panthers weren't the best regular-season team in the league last year, and we suppose that will give the Sabres some motivation to win early against them. But when both teams are at full strength, Buffalo pales in comparison to what Florida has to offer.
Know Your Enemy, Sabres Edition: How Will Buffalo Do Against The Boston Bruins?The Buffalo Sabres have made most, if. not all of their off-season moves. And before we get around to making our pre-season predictions as is custom at THN.com, we're going to take a different approach to our picks this time around. Instead of just giving you all the picks at once, we're going to break things down for the Sabres by looking into who their divisional opponents will be next season -- and why that contributes to them either making, or missing, the Stanley Cup playoffs.
We're not saying the Sabres have zero chance at winning a game or two against the Panthers. The NHL is an any-team-can-win-at-any-point type of league, but on paper, at least, Florida has too much talent and too much veteran knowhow for Buffalo to reliably beat.
If the Sabres do make the playoffs, they'll have to beat lesser teams than the Panthers. Because the way Florida is contstructed, Buffalo simply doesn't compare to the Panthers.