Buffalo Sabres at Utah Mammoth: game preview
BuffaloSabres2026-27: 2-1-0 · 4 pts · 2025-26: 50-23-9 · 109 pts · 4that
UtahMammoth2026-27: 3-1-0 · 6 pts · 2025-26: 43-33-6 · 92 pts · 15thSeventeen points apart last season
Buffalo finished last season 4th in the league on 109 points. Utah finished 15th on 92, and the 2025-26 season series went UTA 2-0-0.
Game-day prices arrive with the afternoon snapshot, about 4:30 PM ET on the day of the game.
Meeting number 5
Across 4 completed games, Utah lead the head-to-head 4-0-0.
Last 4 meetings
See all: Last 4 meetings →The table on each 2025-26 meeting night
League rank after that night's games; a longer bar is a higher place. On 4 Nov 2025, Buffalo were 22nd in the league and Utah 5th. By 12 Nov 2025 it was 30th and 10th.
Utah out-attempted Buffalo 275 to 202
Every attempt from the last meetings, both teams shooting right.
Buffalo Sabres
Utah Mammoth
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: 3 games for Buffalo, 4 for Utah. Small sample: early-season xG moves a lot from night to night.
Last 10 games: 10 games for Buffalo, 10 for Utah.
2025-26: 82 games for Buffalo, 82 for Utah.
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
Buffalo
Small sampleUtah
Small sampleClayton Keller has 6 points in the last 4 meetings
Each club's top three forwards and defencemen by points this season, with 2025-26 one tap away, then who has produced in the last meetings.
Clayton Keller vs Buffalo · game by game
See all: Clayton Keller vs Buffalo · game by game →Karel Vejmelka has started most of these meetings
Karel Vejmelka played 4 of the last 4 meetings with Buffalo, with a .921 save percentage. Starters are confirmed on game day.
Buffalo crease
BUF · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 24 Jan
Three goalies used against Utah
Karel Vejmelka
See all: Karel Vejmelka →UTA · 2-1-0 in 2026-27 Starter estimate from 24 Jan
Also on the roster, 2026-27: Sebastian Cossa .947 (1 GP)
Full game logScoring rates point to about 6.4 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 4 meetings
Bar length is total goals, coloured by the winner.
Scoring rates
Buffalo3.333.673.512.94
Utah4.252.003.272.93Goals 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
Buffalo · injuries
Utah · injuries
Latest moves
See all: Latest moves →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.
Placed LW Ben McCartney on waivers.
Assigned Fs Yegor Borikov, Caleb Desnoyers, Tij Iginla, Gabe Smith and G Michael Hrabal to Tucson (AHL). Waived for the purpose of assignment to Fs Brandon Tanev and Joshua Roy and D Zac Jones.
Signed D Max Psenicka to a three-year contract.
Buffalo · 2026 draft
See all: Buffalo · 2026 draft →Utah · 2026 draft
See all: Utah · 2026 draft →Wednesday 27 January · the full slate
See all: Wednesday 27 January · the full slate →
Updated after every final