Know Your Enemy, Sabres Metropolitan Edition: Sabres Could Be Battling Up-And-Coming Blue Jackets For Wild Card Berth

Adam Fantilli (left); Alex Tuch (right) -- (Timothy T. Ludwig, USA TODAY Images)

The Buffalo Sabres are one of the teams most desperate to make the Stanley Cup playoffs next season. And one of the teams the Sabres could be battling for one of the two wild card berths next season is another team desperate to end a prolonged playoff drought -- the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Blue Jackets narrowly missed out on the post-season last year, and they're a team that has an up-and-coming young core of high-end talent. But does Buffalo have what it takes to beat the Jackets when the two teams go head-to-head against each other next year? That's the main question we're answering in this THN.com Sabres site series. Below, you'll find all the relevant information about the Sabres' chances against Columbus next year -- not only in terms of face-to-face battles, but also, in terms of which team is more likely to secure a wild card playoff berth. Let's get to it:

"The Wraparound"

NEW BLUE JACKETS PLAYERS: Charlie Coyle, C; Miles Wood, LW

2024-25 SERIES: Sabres 1-2-0, Blue Jackets 2-1-0

2025-26 GAMES AGAINST EACH OTHER:  October 28 at Buffalo; January 3 at Columbus; April 9 at Buffalo 

CAN THE SABRES BEAT THIS TEAM?  The Sabres and Blue Jackets are relatively close to each other, and this coming season, the games between the two franchises are spread out relatively evenly throughout the season. Their first game is Buffalo's 10th of the year; their second tilt comes approximately midway through the season; and their final game will be the Sabres' third-last regular-season game of the year.

Columbus' young core should present a major challenge for the Sabres' defense corps, with youngsters including center Adam Fantilli and wingers Kent Johnson and Kirill Marchenko leading the Blue Jackets' attack. Meanwhile, newcomers Coyle and Wood should help the Jackets' cause. And while Buffalo's defense corps is deeper and more talented that that of the Jackets' defense corps, the truth is that Columbus superstar defenseman Zach Werenski is better than any defenseman on the Sabres' back end.

If the Blue Jackets do have a weakness, it's in net, where veteran Elvis Merzlikins is trying to rebound from a terrible 2024-25 season. Youngster Jet Greaves was terrific in `11 appearances last season, so Merzlikins may wind up being one of the NHL's highest-paid backup goalies if he can't bounce back and Greaves steals the starter's job.

Regardless, it's going to be tough sledding for both the Sabres and Blue Jackets to earn playoff spots next season. Buffalo is in what we see as the most competitive division in the league in the Atlantic Division, but Columbus is in a Metropolitan Division where just about every team has some sort of design on a playoff berth.

Now, we'd be lying if we said we expect teams like the New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins to simply fall to the wayside and be walked over by the Metro's other five teams, but the Flyers, Pens and Isles missed the playoffs for good reason last year -- they simply don't have sufficient high-quality depth, and that really hasn't changed this summer.

Thus, if Metro front-runners Carolina, Washington and New Jersey all remain playoff teams next season, that leaves just one playoff spot for the Blue Jackets and New York Rangers to fight over. And that's if -- and only if -- the Atlantic Division doesn't send five teams to the playoffs the way it did last season.

So the challenge for Buffalo is clear -- take advantage of their three games against the Blue Jackets (including two home games against Columbus), and reverse the results they had against the Jackets last season. We easily could see the playoff race between the Sabres and Blue Jackets come down to one or two standings points, so Buffalo fans will be acutely aware of the Sabres' efforts against Columbus, and the impact the series between the Jackets and Buffalo has on the Sabres' bottom line.

Both the Blue Jackets and Sabres have a lot to like about their roster. But looking at the two teams on paper isn't the same thing as seeing them both play, and Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff will have to keep his players disciplined and focused against a hungry Columbus squad.

Otherwise, the Jackets have more than enough talent to be victorious against the Sabres. Columbus had a slight edge in head-to-head action against Buffalo last season, and that slight edge may be just enough this coming year to send the Blue Jackets into the post-season and prolong the Sabres' agony over what would be their 15-year playoff drought. The line between playoff teams and non-playoff teams is thinner than ever, and Buffalo will have to be playing its best hockey to avoid being victimized by the Jackets.