Carolina Hurricanes at Buffalo Sabres: game preview
CarolinaHurricanes2026-27: 2-1-1 · 5 pts · 2025-26: 53-22-7 · 113 pts · 2ndat
BuffaloSabres2026-27: 2-1-0 · 4 pts · 2025-26: 50-23-9 · 109 pts · 4thFour points apart last season
Carolina finished last season 2nd in the league on 113 points. Buffalo finished 4th on 109.
Game-day prices arrive with the afternoon snapshot, about 4:30 PM ET on the day of the game.
Meeting number 107
Across 106 completed games, Carolina lead the head-to-head 55-39-12.
Last 5 meetings
See all: Last 5 meetings →The table on each 2025-26 meeting night
League rank after that night's games; a longer bar is a higher place. On 8 Nov 2025, Carolina were 6th in the league and Buffalo 29th. By 19 Jan 2026 it was 2nd and 12th.
Carolina out-attempted Buffalo 202 to 133
Every attempt from the last meetings, both teams shooting right.
Carolina Hurricanes
Buffalo Sabres
Carolina and Buffalo are level on chances, last 10 games
Shot quality both ways: expected goals weigh every unblocked attempt by its chance of scoring. Finishing above zero means more goals than the chances.
This season: 4 games for Carolina, 3 for Buffalo. Small sample: early-season xG moves a lot from night to night.
Last 10 games: 10 games for Carolina, 10 for Buffalo.
2025-26: 86 games for Carolina, 82 for Buffalo.
Power play and penalty kill, season and series
This season's rates first, then 2025-26 and the last meetings between the two. Power-play chances are counted from the penalty log with coincidental minors cancelled; faceoffs are each club's wins over draws taken.
All bars share one scale · 0–100%SeasonLast meetings
Carolina
Small sampleBuffalo
Small sampleSkaters to watch
Each club's top three forwards and defencemen by points this season, with 2025-26 one tap away.
Who has stopped this matchup
Save percentage in the last meetings by goalie. Starters are confirmed on game day.
Carolina crease
CAR · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 15 Feb
No appearances against Buffalo in the last meetings.
Buffalo crease
BUF · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 15 Feb
No appearances against Carolina in the last meetings.
Scoring rates point to about 6.5 goals
No total is posted yet: it arrives with the game-day prices. Until then, the scoring rates and the recent meetings set the range.
Goals in the last 5 meetings
Bar length is total goals, coloured by the winner.
Scoring rates
Carolina2.753.003.612.93
Buffalo3.333.673.512.94Goals for and against per game. The estimate averages each team’s scoring with the other’s goals allowed, and leans on 2025-26 until a team has played 20 games.
8 on the injury lists
Carolina · injuries
Buffalo · injuries
Latest moves
See all: Latest moves →Placed G Cayden Primeau on waivers.
Placed C Seth Jarvis on the injured non-roster list. Placed LD Juuso Valimaki on waivers.
Placed C Seth Jarvis on the injured non-roster list. Placed D Juuso Valimaki on waivers.
Loaned D Dennis Gilbert to Rochester (AHL).
Recalled D Dennis Gilbert from Rochester (AHL). Placed G Alex Lyon and D Olen Zellweger on injured reserve. Signed D Louis Crevier to a four-year contract. Transferred F Matthew Savoie to long-term injured reserve.
Signed C Noah Östlund to an eight-year contract.
Carolina · 2026 draft
See all: Carolina · 2026 draft →Buffalo · 2026 draft
See all: Buffalo · 2026 draft →
Updated after every final