Vancouver Canucks at Buffalo Sabres: game preview
VancouverCanucks2026-27: 2-2-0 · 4 pts · 2025-26: 25-49-8 · 58 pts · 32ndat
BuffaloSabres2026-27: 2-1-0 · 4 pts · 2025-26: 50-23-9 · 109 pts · 4thFifty-one points apart last season
Vancouver finished last season 32nd in the league on 58 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 143
Across 142 completed games, Buffalo lead the head-to-head 73-65-4.
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 11 Dec 2025, Vancouver were 32nd in the league and Buffalo 27th. By 6 Jan 2026 it was 31st and 12th.
Vancouver out-attempted Buffalo 160 to 82
Every attempt from the last meetings, both teams shooting right.
Vancouver Canucks
Buffalo Sabres
Buffalo have created the better 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 Vancouver, 3 for Buffalo. Small sample: early-season xG moves a lot from night to night.
Last 10 games: 10 games for Vancouver, 10 for Buffalo.
2025-26: 82 games for Vancouver, 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
Vancouver
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.
Vancouver crease
VAN · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 6 Mar
No appearances against Buffalo in the last meetings.
Buffalo crease
BUF · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 6 Mar
No appearances against Vancouver in the last meetings.
Scoring rates point to about 6.8 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
Vancouver4.754.502.633.85
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.
11 on the injury lists
Vancouver · injuries
Buffalo · injuries
Latest moves
See all: Latest moves →Placed G Nikita Tolopilo on waivers.
Claimed G Leevi Merilainen off waivers from Ottawa. Placed F Filip Chytil on injured reserve. Assigned F Braeden Cootes to Abbotsford (AHL).
Assigned Fs Ty Mueller, Riley Patterson, Ilya Safonov and Chase Wouters, Ds Kirill Kudryavtsev and Sawyer Mynio to Abbotsford (AHL). Loaned F Ben Berard and D Isaac Belliveau to Abbotsford. Waived for the purpose of assignment to Abbotsford F Trey Fix-Wolansky and Ds Cole Clayton and Jimmy Schuldt.
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.
Vancouver · 2026 draft
See all: Vancouver · 2026 draft →Buffalo · 2026 draft
See all: Buffalo · 2026 draft →Tuesday 9 March · the full slate
See all: Tuesday 9 March · the full slate →VANatBUFThis game7:00 PM ET
NJDat
FLA7:00 PM ET
MTLat
NYI7:00 PM ET
OTTat
PIT7:00 PM ET
CGYat
WSH7:00 PM ET
DETat
WPG8:00 PM ET
NSHat
STL8:00 PM ET
CARat
MIN8:00 PM ET
LAKat
EDM9:00 PM ET
PHIat
COL9:00 PM ET
NYRat
UTA10:30 PM ET
SJSat
VGKUpdated after every final