The Buffalo Sabres hope to snap their long playoff drought that has reached seven years after an offseason of bold moves, along with the addition of two talented teenagers, and the quest begins Thursday against the visiting Boston Bruins. The Sabres added goaltender Carter Hutton along with forwards Jeff Skinner, Patrik Berglund and Conor Sheary - among others - while 2018 first overall pick Rasmus Dahlin makes his debut and 2017 No. 8 selection Casey Mittelstadt starts his first full season.

The Washington Capitals made a statement in their season opener that they are not the reigning Stanley Cup champions by accident. They'll attempt to prove that their six-game victory in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs also was no fluke when they visit the Pittsburgh Penguins for a rematch on Thursday.

The New York Islanders are pinning their future on their new arena planned for Long Island in 2021, but first the club must deal with the remnants of the past and filling a cavernous on-ice void. The Islanders open the season at the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night minus longtime captain John Tavares, who left for Toronto via free agency in the offseason.

The Nashville Predators have ascended into the upper echelon of NHL teams while the New York Rangers have slipped out of that group and face a steep climb to find their way back. The Predators are among the favorites to hoist the Stanley Cup as they prepare to kick off the season against the rebuilding Rangers on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.

Two teams looking to pick themselves up after disastrous seasons will bid to take a positive step at the other's expense on Thursday as the Chicago Blackhawks visit the Ottawa Senators. The injury-riddled Blackhawks missed the playoffs last season for the first time since 2007-08 while the Senators answered being one goal from a Stanley Cup Finals appearance by recording their fewest points (67) since mustering just 41 in 1995-96.

The Columbus Blue Jackets visit the Detroit Red Wings in the season opener for both teams Thursday night and the story is more about who won’t be on the ice than the players that will be there. Standout defenseman Seth Jones of Columbus is lost for about another month with a knee injury while the Red Wings could be missing three of their top six on the blue line, and captain Henrik Zetterberg will drop the ceremonial first puck after retiring recently.

The magical run to last season’s Western Conference final by the Winnipeg Jets marked the most successful season in franchise history, but they enter Thursday’s season opener at the St. Louis Blues with tremendous expectations. The Jets have emerged from a long rebuild and enter 2018-19 as a bona fide Stanley Cup contender, with center Mark Scheifele, forwards Blake Wheeler and Patrik Laine, and goaltender Connor Hellebuyck poised for ever bigger things.

Jim Montgomery is champing at the bit to make his NHL coaching debut as his Dallas Stars host the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday in the season opener for both teams. Montgomery spent five seasons with Denver in the NCAA before taking over for the retired Ken Hitchcock as coach of the Stars, who have missed the playoffs in eight of the last 10 years.

The Colorado Avalanche made one of the more dramatic improvements in league history in 2017-18, almost doubling their point total from the previous season. That was good for a playoff slot and fourth place in the top-heavy Central Division, six points behind the Minnesota Wild, who visit the Avalanche on Thursday night in the season opener for both teams.

The fairy-tale expansion season of the Vegas Golden Knights perhaps was so far-fetched that Hollywood likely would have rejected the script on the basis that it stretched the boundaries of believability. After capturing the sports world by storm, the Golden Knights aim to take the first steps toward a return trip to the Stanley Cup Finals on Thursday when they open the 2018-19 campaign against the visiting Philadelphia Flyers.