The Buffalo Sabres’ performance this past season had many positives, as the Sabres earned top spot in the Atlantic Division, as well as winning their first-round Stanley Cup playoffs series against the Boston Bruins. The Sabres lost to the Montreal Canadiens in Round 2, but Buffalo’s breakthrough came as a huge relief for long-suffering Sabres fans.. 

For the second straight year at TheHockeyNews.com, we're breaking down the Sabres’ Eastern Conference opponents in a series titled “Know Your Enemy”. And in this file, we’re focused on a team that’s won two of the past three Cups – the Florida Panthers. The Panthers cratered last season and missed the playoffs altogether, but Florida GM Bill Zito re-stocked his team’s shelves this summer. And that means Buffalo will face a tough test against their Atlantic rivals, the Panthers included.

NEW PANTHERS PLAYERS: Brady Tkachuk (LW), Jacob Markstrom (G), Akira Schmid (G), Garnet Hathaway (RW), Radko Gudas (D), Sam Lafferty (C), Lars Eller (C)

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

2026-27 GAMES AGAINST EACH OTHER: October 12, at Buffalo; November 21 at Florida; December 30 at Florida; March 20 at Buffalo

CAN THE SABRES BEAT THIS TEAM? The Panthers had one of the best off-seasons in the league this summer, and now that they’ll have captain and star center Aleksander Barkov back from a devastating injury that caused him to miss the entire 2025-26 season, you have to believe Florida will be one of the surest bets to bounce back this coming year.

Adding former Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk absolutely makes the Panthers considerably better up front, while Zito also brought back veteran defenseman Radko Gudas for his second stint with the franchise. So it’s clear that Florida will be one of the most miserable teams to play against in ‘26-27.

However, the Panthers also appear to have their weak points – most notably, in net, where star Sergei Bobrovsky left for greener financial pastures with the Toronto Maple Leafs. And they replaced him with 36-year-old veteran Jacob Markstrom, also coming back on board for his second go-around with Florida. That could prove to be a poor decision – and the Sabres need to jump on Markstrom this year and establish their dominance over the Panthers.

The Sabres will take on Florida three times before the change in the calendar year, including Buffalo’s sixth game of the season. Then, in their final showdown of the year, the Panthers will battle Buffalo in the Sabres’ 73rd game of the season. The trade deadline may drastically change the look of one or both teams, but it behooves the Sabres to make the most of their first three games against Florida. Because these two teams could be battling it out for what could turn out to be one of the final wild card berths in the East this season.

Florida is far from a perfect team. But it’s safe to say the Sabres must go through the Panthers, one way or another, for Buffalo to improve on their playoff performance next season.

The Panthers were the gold standard for a couple of years there, and they may prove to be that again sometime soon. But the challenge is there for the Sabres to punish Florida the same way the Panthers have become famous for punishing teams, and if Buffalo can’t do that, the Sabres could be in for heartbreak.