The Buffalo Sabres are already into the 2026-27 regular season, and the first week has given them a little bit of everything: a road loss, a home win, some early power-play frustration, and a handful of injury updates that matter moving forward.
Buffalo opened the season Thursday night in Columbus and dropped a 6-3 decision to the Blue Jackets. Newly acquired Blue Jacket Matthew Knies made a loud first impression, finishing with two goals and an assist.
The response came Saturday night at home, where the Sabres beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 in their opener at KeyBank Center. Buffalo dug itself out of a 2-0 first-period hole, then watched Chicago take a 3-2 lead into the third. From there, Rasmus Dahlin and Jiri Kulich delivered the goals that pushed the Sabres to a regulation win.
One area that hasn’t clicked yet is the power play. Through two games, Buffalo has gone scoreless on eight chances.
For a team with the talent it has on both units, that’s a rough opening stretch. During training camp, the analytics department reportedly handed the coaching staff 50-60 pages on what makes an elite power play, but the early returns haven’t matched that work.
Lindy Ruff also made it clear this is his power play, not assistant coach Seth Appert’s, even if Appert has taken most of the heat online.
The injury picture is looking a little better in one spot and murkier in others. Olen Zellweger, who missed most of the preseason and the season opener with a concussion, was back in the lineup for the win over Chicago.
Conor Timmins has been sidelined since Sept. 26 with a lower-body injury and was placed on injured reserve before the season. Ruff said he could not say how long Timmins will be out.
Alex Lyon has also been on injured reserve after leaving the preseason game against the Detroit Red Wings on Sept. 24 when he dove for a loose puck. Ruff said Lyon can be activated at any time and should be back at practice within the next few days.
Jason Zucker has been out since the start of training camp after suffering a sports hernia during the offseason. General manager Jarmo Kekalainen said he “could maybe miss a couple weeks of the regular season.”
The Sabres now turn to a week with two games on the calendar. They host the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday, Oct. 6 at 7:00 PM ET, then welcome the Utah Mammoth on Saturday, Oct. 10 at 7:00 PM ET.
In Other News...
Sabres Win Came With A Wild Injury Scare Fans Will Notice
Nick Folignos night against the Sabres ended early, and not in the way Minnesota wanted to see. The veteran Wild forward left the game with an upper-body injury after a brief appearance, a concerning development for a player in his first full season with the club after being acquired last season and then returning on a one-year deal.
For Buffalo, the win came with an injury scare that stood out even after the overtime finish. Foligno was out of the game after logging only limited ice time, and the Wild never really got him back into the mix before ultimately falling in overtime, leaving Minnesota to wait on a fuller update and Sabres fans with a reminder of how quickly a game can turn. [Read more 🡒]
Zach Metsa Just Gave The Sabres A Toughness Story Fans Noticed
The Sabres got an early-season reminder that their edge can come from unlikely places, and Zach Metsa supplied it in the opener against Columbus. The defenseman ended up in a fight with Blue Jackets winger Mathieu Olivier, a confrontation that immediately drew attention because of the size gap and because it came in a game that already had a tense feel to it.
Metsas willingness to answer the bell did not go unnoticed inside the room. Lindy Ruff and teammates were quick to point out the value of a player standing up for the group, especially in a moment like that, and it added a little toughness to the Sabres opening-night story that fans tend to remember. [Read more 🡒]
Viggo Bjrck Is Giving Jets Fans A Reason To Watch Closely
Week 1 offered an early look at three rookies around the league, and Konsta Helenius gave the Sabres something to file away for later. In a tiny sample, the young center showed the kind of reliability coaches tend to trust quickly, pairing steady puck possession with a composed two-way presence that fit naturally into the flow of the game.
The encouraging part for Buffalo is how much of Heleniuss value came in the details. He was effective in puck battles and on clean exits from the defensive zone, often turning those touches into the first step of a counterattack, and he did enough in limited ice time to keep the organization watching closely as the sample grows. [Read more 🡒]