PuckCast Edge
Every pick is free. The Edge is the rest.
Betting edges, stake sizing, props priced against the line, fantasy tiers and the graded ledger. $14.99 a month in season, or $99 for the year.
PuckCast Edge
Betting edges, stake sizing, props priced against the line, fantasy tiers and the graded ledger. $14.99 a month in season, or $99 for the year.
Final · Sat, Oct 3, 7:00 PM ET
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen · 0.910 SV%
The preseason ratings make Buffalo Sabres 69.5% to win at home: a clear lean, worth 19.5 points over a coin flip, which grades B. Over a full season those same ratings project BUF for 104 points and CHI for 83.
The model leaned Buffalo Sabres at 69.5%.
BUF controlled play at 5v5 last season, 50.7% of the expected goals to 43.7%.
In goal, neither team has named a starter. Last season Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (BUF) saved -1.3 goals above expected to Spencer Knight's -12.5, on save percentages of 0.910 and 0.902.
None of that is the model read. This is a rating-and-home-ice forecast; the full prediction, with confirmed goalies, rest and form, priced against the market, publishes inside the seven days before puck drop and replaces these numbers. Buffalo Sabres over Chicago Blackhawks is where it starts, not where it ends.
No sportsbook has posted a price for this game yet. Prices usually appear roughly a week before puck drop.
No starter is named this far out. These are each side’s projected starters on the current roster, with last season’s numbers.
CHI
Spencer Knight
55 games, 2025-26
BUF
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
35 games, 2025-26
| CHI | Metric | BUF |
|---|---|---|
| 43.7% | xGF% (5v5) | 50.7% |
| — | Shot share | — |
| — | Goals for / game | — |
| — | Goals against / game | — |
| — | Power play | — |
| — | Penalty kill | — |
| — | Faceoffs | — |
Chicago Blackhawks
| Player | Pos | G | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Patrick Kane | R | 18 | 36 | 54 |
 Frank Nazar | C | 16 | 25 | 41 |
 Tyler Bertuzzi | L | 20 | 20 | 40 |
 Bowen Byram | D | 10 | 27 | 37 |
Buffalo Sabres
| Player | Pos | G | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Tage Thompson | C | 35 | 33 | 68 |
| Date | Game | Pick | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-13 | BUF @ CHI | BUF | BUF 5–1 CHI | Correct |
| 2025-11-21 | CHI @ BUF | BUF | CHI 3–9 BUF | Correct |
| Team | Proj. points | Playoff odds |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago Blackhawks | 83 | 25.9% |
| Buffalo Sabres | 104 | 67.2% |
Forecast method preseason-elo-v1; ratings as of 2026-08-19.
 Rasmus Dahlin | D | 18 | 50 | 68 |
|---|
 Ryan McLeod | C | 14 | 30 | 44 |
|---|
 Jack Quinn | R | 17 | 26 | 43 |
|---|
UTA@
BUF
