The Buffalo Sabres are set to start the 2026-27 season, but it will be difficult to improve on their 2025-26 campaign – one in which they finished first in the Atlantic Division in the regular-season before beating the Boston Bruins in the first round of their Stanley Cup playoff series.

Here at TheHockeyNews.com, in an off-season series, we’re analyzing the Sabres’ Eastern Conference opponents in a series titled “Know Your Enemy”. In this series, we’re breaking down how Buffalo fared against each East team last year, and how they’re likely to fare against those teams this year. And in this final file in the series, we’re focusing on the Washington Capitals. 

The Capitals had an excellent off-season, adding a slew of veterans to reload for a playoff push. Here’s this columnist’s perspective on how the Sabres will fare against Washington in 2026-27:

NEW CAPITALS PLAYERS: Alex Tuch (RW), Jordan Kyrou (RW), Boone Jenner (C), Vincent Desharnais (D)

2025-26 SERIES: Sabres 1-2-0, Capitals 2-0-1

2026-27 GAMES AGAINST EACH OTHER: October 24 at Washington; November 19 at Washington; March 18 at Buffalo

CAN THE SABRES BEAT THIS TEAM? The Sabres didn’t have much success against the Capitals last season, and there’s good news and bad news in that regard: the good news is that Buffalo won’t see the same Washington roster this season. But the bad news is that the new-look Caps are going to be even more of a problem for the Sabres.

Remember, even though Washington missed the playoffs last season, they only were a few points out of a wild card spot. So when you take the core of the Capitals – Alexander Ovechkin, Logan Thompson, Jakob Chychrun, Tom Wilson – and you add to it four very capable newcomers in trades and free-agency, you’re going to have a Capitals team capable of doing a lot of damage.

The first of those four Caps newcomers is extremely familiar to Sabres fans – power forward Tuch, who left Buffalo behind for a lucrative payday in D.C.. But Sabres fans won’t be able to let Tuch know how they feel about him until close to the end of the regular season. Buffalo will take on the Capitals twice earlier in the year, but both of those games will be in Washington. 

By that point, the Sabres will have bigger fish to fry than to worry about sticking it to Tuch. And in that third and final game, one or both of the Capitals and Sabres could be fighting it out for a wild card berth. 

The Capitals will be bolstered by Tuch, Jenner, Kyrou and Desharnais, so Buffalo will have its hands full in each game they play against Washington. But the Sabres can send a message to Tuch — that he made a major mistake by leaving Buffalo – by defeating the Caps and proving to Sabres fans that they can take on above-average teams and humble them. 

Washington could challenge the Carolina Hurricanes for top spot in the Metropolitan Division. So the Sabres know they’re going to face a serious challenge from the Capitals. And the way Buffalo responds to that challenge will help shape the way their 2026-27 season unfolds.