Buffalo’s meeting with the Dallas Stars at KeyBank Center on October 8, 2026 came with an early-season truth attached to it: the Sabres had found momentum, and Owen Power had been central to it. Buffalo entered at 2-1-0, Dallas at 1-2-0, and the home side was trying to keep a strong early homestand moving in the right direction.
That made this more than just another October fixture. The Sabres had already recovered from a season-opening loss in Columbus, then taken two straight at home, including a 4-3 win over Chicago after trailing by two goals and an overtime victory against Minnesota after again fighting back from two down. Those results told you something about the team’s resilience, but also about the strain of slow starts that Lindy Ruff would never admit to being a problem, even if the evidence was there.
Power has set the standard
The clearest bright spot for Buffalo had been Power. Through the first three games, the defenseman led the Sabres with five points, including the overtime winner against Minnesota. That kind of output from the blue line changes the feel of a team’s start, especially when it comes with the sort of workload Power had already been carrying.
He had played more than 26 minutes in that victory over Minnesota, which only reinforced how heavily Buffalo were leaning on him. For a team trying to survive the early weeks of the season while waiting for other parts of the lineup to settle, that matters. Power was not just contributing; he was driving the tone.
Questions still hanging over Buffalo
Even with the wins, the Sabres were not free of concern. Josh Doan and Josh Norris had both been off to slow starts, and that remained part of the conversation around Buffalo as the Stars came to town. The issue was not effort so much as timing and rhythm, especially at a point in the schedule when the team needed more from its top end.
Doan’s usage against Minnesota underlined the point. During the third period, he was moved from the top line to the fourth line and played three shifts. That is the kind of move that can speak loudly without needing much explanation. It suggested the Sabres were still searching for the right combinations while trying to protect the early results they had already banked.
Against a Dallas team that had gone 1-2-0, Buffalo’s task was straightforward enough: keep home ice working, keep the homestand alive, and continue building on the habits that had already pulled them back from trouble twice in three games. The Stars’ visit did not demand a perfect performance, but it did ask a simple question. Were the Sabres becoming a team that could control the early part of a season, or merely one that kept finding ways to recover?
Last season’s 1-0-1 record against Dallas offered Buffalo some encouragement, but this matchup was really about what came next. Power had given the Sabres a legitimate early-season standout. Now the challenge was whether the rest of the team could match that standard while the homestand continued.
