The Buffalo Sabres Will Play 10 Games In Front of a National Audience This Season

I know, many in Western New York are still in Buffalo Bills season mode and it's understandable since it's mid-September and the Bills have Super Bowl aspirations, but the Buffalo Sabres will also soon be back and playing regular-season games.

The Sabres will soon begin their 2021-2022 regular season (next month) and it's not a secret that the Sabres are in a rebuilding mode.

Gone from the team are forward Sam Reinhart, defensemen Rasmus Ristolainen and Jake McCabe, along with goaltenders Carter Hutton and Linus Ullmark.

That has not deterred the NHL from broadcasting games to a nationally-televised audience, however.

The Sabres and the NHL announced this week that eight games will be aired exclusively on ESPN+/Hulu:

• October 22nd vs. the Boston Bruins (7 pm)
• November 2nd at the San Jose Sharks (10:30 pm)
• November 12th vs. the Edmonton Oilers (7 pm)
• December 7th vs. the Anaheim Ducks (7:30 pm)
• February 1st at the Vegas Golden Knights (10 pm)
• March 4th vs. the Minnesota Wild (7 pm)
• April 5th vs. the Carolina Hurricanes (7 pm)
• April 7th at the Carolina Hurricanes (7:30 pm)

There will also be two Sabres games on TNT:

• March 13th vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs at 3 pm (Tim Hortons Heritage Classic Game at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario)
• March 23rd vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins (7:30 pm)

The NHL will air games on ESPN for the first time since 2004 for the 2021-2022 season and the Sabres, while not on ESPN's main channel, will be on both TNT and ESPN+.

The first preseason game will be September 28th against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The first regular-season game will be October 14th at home against the Montreal Canadiens,