The Buffalo Sabres are aiming to improve on their rewarding 2025-26 season, in which they finished first in the ultra-competitive Atlantic Division in the regular-season, then beat the Boston Bruins in Round 1 of their Stanley Cup playoff series before falling to the Montreal Canadiens in Round 2.

Here at TheHockeyNews.com, as part of an annual series of articles, we’re analyzing the Sabres’ Eastern Conference opponents in a series titled “Know Your Enemy”. In these files, we’re looking at how Buffalo played against every East team last season, and how they’re likely to fare against every of those Eastern teams this season.

And in this file, we’re turning the spotlight on the Tampa Bay Lightning..

The Lightning finished second in the Atlantic last year, just three standings points behind Buffalo. Tampa Bay had the same amount of wins as the Bolts did last season, so the Lightning are going to be one of the Sabres’ toughest opponents this season. Here’s this columnist’s perspective on how the Sabres should fare against the Lightning this season:

NEW LIGHTNING PLAYERS: Ilya Mikheyev (LW), John Carlson (D), Dennis Hildeby (G), Jeffrey Viel (LW) 

2025-26 SERIES: Sabres 3-0-1, Lightning 1-3-0

2026-27 GAMES AGAINST EACH OTHER: November 11 at Buffalo; November 22 at Tampa Bay; January 2 at Tampa Bay; April 5 at Buffalo

CAN THE SABRES BEAT THIS TEAM? The Lightning were one of the best teams in the league before their off-season made them considerably better. They’ve now got a healthy Victor Hedman back, as well as free-agent signing Carlson, the long-time Washington Capitals defenseman. Carlson essentially replaced departed D-man Darren Raddysh, and that could be a significant upgrade for the Bolts.

Meanwhile, Bolts GM Julien BriseBois went out and added an above-average winger in Mikheyev, and he traded with the Toronto Maple Leafs to acquire an up-and-coming goaltender in Dennis Hildeby. The Lightning have needed a better backup for star Andrei Vasilevsky for years now. And Hildeby, who was stuck in a logjam with the Leafs, could thrive on a Lightning team better than Toronto. If he can give Tampa 25-30 games, Vasilevskiy will be fresher for the Bolts’ next playoff run.

All of which is to say, yes, the Sabres can still beat Tampa Bay, but it certainly won’t be easy for Buffalo, and there is a world in which the Sabres get swept by the Bolts. It could be a feast-or-famine type of year for the Sabres, but they clearly have a nemesis in Tampa Bay. And the Lightning have the superstars – Jake Guentzel; Nikita Kucherov; Hedman and Brayden Point; and the newcomer, Carlson – to overwhelm their opponents, Buffalo included.

The Sabres will be taking on the Lightning twice in an 11-day stretch in early November, and they’ll then clash again the day after New Year’s Day. And after that, they’ll get one more look at Tampa in their third-to-last game of the regular-season on April 5. That particular game could affect either or both team’s place in the Atlantic standings, and it could set up a first-round matchup between Buffalo and the Bolts. And that would be a first-round series Sabres fans may not be pleased with.

The Sabres are a strong team, and they did handle their business against the Lightning last season, winning three out of four games, and never losing in regulation in those four games. That’s a record against the Bolts that few teams can boast of. But the Lightning have as least as much talent, if not more, than Buffalo does. 

And in the four regular-season clashes between the two teams, the one thing that’s guaranteed is we’re going to see high-quality hockey.