Mark your calendars: The Sabres will open the 2020-21 season at home against the Washington Capitals on Thursday, Jan.14.
The NHL has announced the full 56-game schedule.
IT’S HERE! ?
Introducing our 2020-21 season schedule: https://t.co/T5lSaeNino#LetsGoBuffalo pic.twitter.com/klC6DiAmTH
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) December 23, 2020
The League unveiled details for the abridged season on Sunday, including temporary realignment. The Sabres will play in the newly formed East Division along with Boston, New Jersey, the New York Islanders, the New York Rangers, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Washington.
Games times will be announced at a later date.
Regular-season play will be held entirely between divisional opponents, as will the first two rounds of the playoffs (1 seed vs. 4 seed; 2 seed vs. 3 seed).
Buffalo’s schedule is broken into two-game sets against the same opponent in a given city. For example: Following the opener against Washington, the Sabres and Capitals are scheduled to meet again inside KeyBank Center on Friday, Jan. 15. After that, the Sabres head to Philadelphia for back-to-back games against the Flyers at Wells Fargo Center.
If that seems unusual, it is. In fact, it’s only happened twice on the road in Sabres history: against Quebec in April 1994 and against Toronto in April 2006.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].