After a long, tumultuous offseason filled with uncertainty and speculation, the Blue Jackets will finally get back to playing hockey that matters when they host the Buffalo Sabres on Oct. 1 at Nationwide Arena in the season-opener for both teams.
Alreadydepleted by injuries to three defensemen and playing with forward Matthew Knies in the lineup for the first time since a Sept. 28 trade that brought him to Columbus and sent Kirill Marchenko to Toronto, the Blue Jackets have a steep hill to climb at the outset of an 84-game grind.
Adam Fantilli, Zach Werenski, Charlie Coyle and Jet Greaves will join Knies and the rest of the Jackets' opening lineup in a tough matchup against
the Sabres, whose Columbus connections are strong in a front office led by general manager Jarmo Kekalainen.
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Dispatch Blue Jackets/Crew reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com
How to watch Blue Jackets vs Sabres
05:22 PM ET, October 1 2026, Brian HedgerThe Blue Jackets get things going against the Sabres at 7 p.m. on their new NHL produced Blue Jackets Hockey Network, which is available via streaming on Amazon Prime and Fubo. Amazon subscribers must purchase access to the network at $19.99 per month or $99.99 annually.
Spectrum Cable viewers watch if they get the Select Plus package or have Select/Preferred Legacy tiers.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets host Buffalo Sabres to open season. Follow live
