Buffalo Sabres
2026-27: 2-1-0 · 4 pts · 14th in the NHL · 4th in the Atlantic · L10 2-1-0 · W2
2025-26: 50-23-9 · 109 pts · 4th in the NHL · 1st in the Atlantic
vs Dallas · 7:00 PM ETPrices after the game-day snapshotExpected in goal: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen 66%Game preview →Buffalo are 2-1-0 after 3 games of 2026-27, 4th in the Atlantic. Last season they finished 4th in the league with 109 points.
4th in the Atlantic after 3 games
League rank after every game of 2026-27, drawn against last season's month-end ranks. With fewer than ten games played, the order still moves a lot from night to night.
League rank through the season
See all: League rank through the season →2026-27 · 14th in the league · 2-1-0 · 4 pts
StandingsPoints in line with the goal difference
Three views derived from the 2026-27 results. Small sample: every split here rests on fewer than ten games.
Expected vs actual points
See all: Expected vs actual points →Points the goal difference is worth = GF^1.8 ÷ (GF^1.8 + GA^1.8) × 2 × GP × 1.115, the league's points a game, from 10 goals for and 11 against in 3 games. Last season: 109 points against 106.0. Expected points from shot quality (xG) are in the Shots section.
MethodClose games
Splits
Three home, three away next
Next six
See all: Next six →Dallas Stars112 pts · 3rd10 Octvs
Utah Mammoth92 pts · 15th12 Octvs
Florida Panthers84 pts · 25th13 Oct@
Montréal Canadiens106 pts · 6th15 Oct@
Toronto Maple Leafs78 pts · 28th17 Oct@Montréal Canadiens106 pts · 6thDifficulty is how often the opponent would beat an average team, from shot quality (our season model, which leans on last season early on). Red is the top quarter of the league, green the bottom quarter. Hover a bar for the numbers.
Next six: these opponents would beat an average team 50.3% of the time. 4 of the six made the 2025-26 playoffs.
Full scheduleLast results
See all: Last results →
Minnesota3–2 OT28–20W3 Octvs
Chicago4–328–15W1 Oct@
Columbus3–626–23LScores Owen Power leads with 5 points in 3 games
2026-27 scoring, with last season's line for every player on the roster. Status tags come from the league-wide injury report.
Moves since July
See all: Moves since July →2026-27 roster
See all: 2026-27 roster →$1.59M of cap space under a $104M ceiling
Cap hit against the ceiling
Biggest cap hits
See all: Biggest cap hits →Out of contract in summer 2027
See all: Out of contract in summer 2027 →As of 1 Oct 2026. Cap hit is the average annual charge against the cap, not a yearly salary. The team figure is a projection that can include players off the roster; space below zero is before long-term injured reserve and other relief, which this data does not include.
Who dressed against Minnesota on 6 Oct
Every player who dressed, ordered by ice time. The league publishes who played, not the line combinations, so this is depth by minutes rather than lines.
Changes from 3 Oct: in Justin Danforth; out Sam Carrick.
Forwards · by ice time
Defence · by ice time
Goalies · by ice time
Did not dress
On the roster but not in the lineup: injured players carry the report’s status, the rest were scratched or are away from the team.
A 28th power play and a 26th penalty kill
Small sample after 3 games. Last season: power play 19.5%, penalty kill 81.9%.
2026-27
Dashed line: league average. Scale 0–100%.
Buffalo attempt more from the wing than anywhere else
Every Buffalo attempt in 2026-27, attacking right (3 games). Crease: within 8 ft of the goal. Slot: inside the faceoff dots below the circles. Point: the top 20 ft of the zone.
Expected goals
See all: Expected goals →2026-27 · 3 games with located shots. Ranks are league-wide (1st = best). Small sample: early-season xG moves a lot from night to night.
2025-26 · 82 games with located shots. Ranks are league-wide (1st = best).
Expected goals weigh every unblocked attempt by its chance of scoring from that spot, shot type and strength (our model, trained on 2025-26). Above zero on finishing or goaltending means better than the chances.
Team xG tableBy zone
184 att · 82 on goal · 10 G
By shot type
Buffalo Sabres rank 14th for 22+ mph bursts and 6th for shot-attempt differential
How fast Buffalo Sabres skated, how hard they shot and where the puck spent its time, ranked against the other 31 teams.
Fastest skaters
- 22.89Jack QuinnvsCHI3 Oct · 2nd 07:41
- 21.89Jiri KulichvsCHI3 Oct · 3rd 19:49
- 21.79Beck MalenstynvsCHI3 Oct · 2nd 05:30
- 21.54Tage Thompson@CBJ1 Oct · 2nd 04:16
- 21.47Ryan McLeodvsCHI3 Oct · 1st 17:59
- 21.47Peyton KrebsvsCHI3 Oct · 3rd 06:08
- 21.36Josh NorrisvsCHI3 Oct · 2nd 18:16
- 21.11Olen ZellwegervsCHI3 Oct · 1st 17:48
Each Buffalo Sabres skater's fastest burst, the top eight, in mph.
Hardest shots
- 89.85Konsta Helenius@CBJ1 Oct · 2nd 13:05
- 86.77Mattias Samuelsson@CBJ1 Oct · 1st 07:21
- 85.40Tage ThompsonvsCHI3 Oct · 2nd 08:28
- 83.15Sam CarrickvsCHI3 Oct · 2nd 02:56
- 82.33Olen ZellwegervsCHI3 Oct · 2nd 09:51
- 82.25Jack QuinnvsCHI3 Oct · 2nd 04:03
- 81.96Noah Ostlund@CBJ1 Oct · 2nd 01:14
- 80.16Jiri Kulich@CBJ1 Oct · 1st 00:38
Each Buffalo Sabres skater's hardest shot, the top eight, in mph.
Territory
Ranks are league-wide, 1st = best.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has started 2 of 3
Starts, save percentage and goals against for every goalie who has played for the club this season, with last season for context.
2026-27
2025-26
Six on the injury list
Injury report
See all: Injury report →Updated 7 Oct, 7:46 AM ET
InjuriesTransactions
See all: Transactions →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.
Acquired future considerations from Carolina Hurricanes for F Stiven Sardaryan.
Signed F Peyton Krebs to a four-year contract .Acquired F Zac Funk Washington for F Tyler Kopff.
Signed G Matt Villalta to a one-year, two-way contract.
Signed F Aidan McDonough to a one-year contract.
2026 draft class
See all: 2026 draft class →Priced at 59% to make the playoffs
Every season-long market the venues list for the Buffalo Sabres, as the venue-average implied chance with each venue's price to buy Yes.
Make the playoffs: market vs last season
A 112-point pace (last season's points % over 84 games) maps to about 94%; the market sits 36 points lower.
Season points: the market's ladder
4 points from 3 games so far. A points pace is shown from game 10.
Kalshi
Polymarket
ProphetXSnapshot 7 Oct, 10:42 AM ET. "Best" is the cheapest price to buy Yes after venue fees. Prices are snapshots taken every 15 minutes (season futures hourly), not live. Prediction markets carry risk of loss and are not available in every jurisdiction. 18+/21+ where applicable. How markets work · Affiliate disclosure
Boston is the most-played rivalry: 380 meetings
Buffalo against every Atlantic rival, from each pairing's first meeting in the index, including 2026-27.
Boston Bruins380173-169-38.4551970-71Montréal Canadiens352173-148-31.4911970-71Toronto Maple Leafs247145-82-20.5871970-71
Ottawa Senators190104-68-18.5471992-93
Detroit Red Wings16580-68-17.4851970-71
Tampa Bay Lightning12870-49-9.5471992-93Florida Panthers12660-55-11.4761993-9410 playoff trips in the last 30 seasons
Playoff depth season by season since 1996-97, the franchise scoring leaders since 1990-91 and its earliest draft picks since 1980. Hover a square for the season.
The last 30 seasons
Points leaders since 1990-91
Regular season, with this franchise only.
Retired numbers
Numbers retired by the franchise, as of October 2026. Maintained by hand, outside the stats feed.
Top picks since 1980
The 6 highest first-round picks of 59 since 1980.
Updated after every final · through 6 Oct