Buffalo to face Los Angeles in home opener

While everyone is in the midst of a free agency frenzy, we also got some news regarding next year’s schedule. Every team had their home opener revealed. For the Buffalo Sabres, it was a Western Conference team, which is not often.

As you can see in the tweet above, the Sabres will host the Los Angeles Kings on October 10th for the first of 41 games at KeyBank Center. This game will come after the Sabres return from the road, as they will be in Germany for an exhibition game and two regular season games against the New Jersey Devils in Prague.

The last time Buffalo hosted a Western Conference team in its home opener was in October 2000, when the Chicago Blackhawks came to town.

In terms of home record against the Kings, Buffalo has had plenty of success when facing Los Angeles in their home stadium, as the Sabres are 39-18-9-0 against the Kings in the comfort of KeyBank Center and Memorial Auditorium.

The Sabres’ last home win over the Kings came last year on February 13, when the Sabres won 7-0. As for the rest of the schedule, it will be revealed tomorrow. It will be a good test for the blue and gold, as LA was a playoff team last season and will most likely be back in the race in the 2024-25 campaign.

Last season, the Sabres hosted another playoff contender, the New York Rangers, to open the season and it didn’t go well as Buffalo lost 5-1 at home. While the Kings aren’t considered to be on the same level as the Rangers, they still pose a challenge.

There’s still a long way to go between now and then, but seeing the opponent and the rest of the schedule means we’re one step closer to hockey season.