The NHL's 2025-26 schedule has been out for a while now, and THN.com's Buffalo Sabres site has been analyzing every team the Sabres will take on next season. We've worked our way through the Eastern Conference teams, and we're currently focusing on the Central Division teams. And in today's file, we're turning our attention to the Nashville Predators.

To say the Predators had a disastrous season would be an understatement. The Preds plummeted down the Central Division standings, eventually landing in seventh place in the division -- their worst finish since the 2013-14 season. Let's look at their record against the Sabres, their new players, and more in our analysis below:

BUFFALO SABRES VS. NASHVILLE PREDATORS

NEW PREDATORS PLAYERS: Erik Haula, LW; Nicolas Hague, D; Nick Perbix, D;  

2024-25 SERIES: Sabres 1-1-0, Predators 1-1-0

2025-26 GAMES AGAINST EACH OTHER:  January 20 at Nashville; March 7 at Buffalo 

CAN THE SABRES BEAT THIS TEAM?  The Predators were brutal last season, despite bringing in stars including wingers Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault, and defenseman Brady Skjei. Nashville GM Barry Trotz began his tenure running the team with multiple stumbles, but the good news is that the Preds at long last got a high-end draft pick out of it -- fifth-overall pick Brady Martin. 

In any case, we're going to be serious skeptics about the Predators in 2025-26. Adding Haula is a fringe move. A more meaty move was adding two veteran defensemen in Hague and Perbix, although neither blueliner will be the reason why Nashville suddenly turns into a playoff team. At their peak, we think the Preds are a mushy-middle team -- not bad enough to get a No. 1-overall draft pick, but not good enough to make the playoffs.

And that's why the Sabres need to sweep their two-game series against the Predators next season. Buffalo has to take care of business against teams that on paper the Sabres absolutely should beat. No more split seasons of 1-1-0 hockey, as was the case when Buffalo took on Nashville last year. The Sabres need to go 2-0-0, and add the standings points they earn against the Predators in the effort to end Buffalo's 14-year playoff streak.

Know Your Enemy, Sabres Central Edition: Will Superstar Kaprizov And Minnesota Wild Roll Over Sabres?The NHL's 2025-26 season is nearly here, and here at THN.com's Sabres site, we've been examining every one of the Buffalo Sabres' opponents next year. Earlier, we looked at the Atlantic Division's seven teams, followed by the Metropolitan Division's eight teams, and now, we're four teams deep in the highly-competitive Central Division. 

The Sabres can't afford to be swept by any opponent next season. Even if they only get an overtime-or-shootout-loss point against a few teams, that will be an improvement for Buffalo. But ideally, the Sabres have to be thinking bigger than that. And that's why making statements against weak teams like the Preds is incredibly important for Buffalo. 

And can you imagine if lowly Nashville wins both games against the Sabres? It will be lost opportunities of that nature that sink Buffalo's playoff hopes next year. The Sabres simply cannot afford to lose in regulation time, twice, against any opponent in 2025-26. But in particular, when it comes to bottom-shelf teams like the Predators, it's an absolute must that Buffalo at least gets one point in the series.

And really, even then, you'd have to consider a 0-1-1 record against the Preds not good enough for the Sabres. The reality is that Buffalo fans, media and management all believe the Sabres should be winning this series outright. The Predators still have too many question marks to put them at the level the Sabres should be performing at, and Buffalo has to put its foot on the gas when they're playing vulnerable teams like the Preds.

Know Your Enemy, Sabres Central Edition: Can Sabres Keep Up With First-Rate Dallas Stars?The Buffalo Sabres have little room for error next season as they attempt to end a 14-year Stanley Cup playoff drought -- and that means they need to beat above-average teams. That includes the Dallas Stars, who the Sabres will take on twice this coming year. 

So, to answer the question, "should the Sabres beat this team?", we say a hearty "yes". Buffalo should absolutely knock the Predators around and take their lunch money. Nasvhille still has some proud players who won't lay down for any opponent, but the Preds' depth is sub-par, and their ability to play at a high level should be questioned by all who have yet to see that from them. The Sabres need to dominate the Predators, as any lost opportunities could come back to haunt Buffalo.