Who is favoured, Buffalo Sabres or Florida Panthers?

Buffalo Sabres, at 53.6% in PuckCast's preseason forecast. That is a rating-based forecast; the full model read, with goalies, rest and form, publishes within seven days of puck drop.

What is a preseason forecast?

A win probability from each team's regressed preseason rating and home ice, the same ratings behind the 2026-27 projected standings. Those ratings are calibrated at the season level, for standings and playoff odds; this single-game percentage is a plain rating formula and has not been graded on its own yet. It is deliberately unsure about any single game, and the confidence grade says how far it leans.

When does the real prediction publish?

Inside the seven-day window before the game. The model re-scores it on every refresh until puck drop, with the confirmed starting goalies, and this page shows that read instead of the forecast.

Buffalo Sabres at Florida Panthers, Sat, Nov 21: prediction and odds forecast

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2026-27 forecast · Sat, Nov 21, 6:00 PM ET

Buffalo SabresBUF

104 proj. pts · 67.2% playoffs

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen · 0.910 SV%

Cvs6:00 PM ET

Florida PanthersFLA

A preseason forecast from each team's regressed rating and home ice, the ratings behind the projected standings. The full model read, with the starting goalies, rest and form, publishes within seven days of the game and replaces this page’s numbers. How the model works

The read

Preseason ratings · last season’s record

at 5v5 last season the two were level on expected goals (50.7% to 49.8%); BUF's power play ran at 19.7% against a FLA kill at 81.0%.

In goal, neither team has named a starter. Last season Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (BUF) saved -1.3 goals above expected to Jacob Markstrom's -29.8, on save percentages of 0.910 and 0.883.

None of that is the model read. This is a rating-and-home-ice forecast; the full prediction — confirmed goalies, rest and form, priced against the market — publishes inside the seven days before puck drop and replaces these numbers. Buffalo Sabres over Florida Panthers is where it starts, not where it ends.

In goal

goalie board

No starter is named this far out. These are each side’s projected starters on the current roster, with last season’s numbers.

BUF

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

SV%: 0.910
GSAx: -1.3
GAA: 2.52
Record: 22-9-3

35 games, 2025-26

FLA

Jacob Markstrom

SV%: 0.883
GSAx: -29.8
GAA: 3.07
Record: 23-19-1

44 games, 2025-26

BUF	Metric	FLA
50.7%	xGF% (5v5)	49.8%
49.7%	Shot share	51.1%
3.4	Goals for / game	3.0
2.9	Goals against / game	3.3
19.7%	Power play	19.6%
81.0%	Penalty kill	81.0%
45.9%	Faceoffs	46.8%

Who drives it

2026-27 projected points

Buffalo Sabres

Player	Pos	G	A	Pts
Tage Thompson	C	35	33	68
Rasmus Dahlin	D	18	50	68
Ryan McLeod	C	14	30	44
Jack Quinn	R	17	26	43

Florida Panthers

Player	Pos	G	A	Pts
Brady Tkachuk	L	29	38	67

Last season, head to head

ledger

Date	Game	Pick	Score	Result
2026-02-27	BUF @ FLA	BUF	BUF 3–2 FLA	Correct
2026-02-02	BUF @ FLA	FLA	BUF 5–3 FLA	Missed
2026-01-12	FLA @ BUF	BUF	FLA 4–3 BUF	Missed
2025-10-18	FLA @ BUF	FLA	FLA 0–3 BUF	Missed

Season outlook

projected standings

Team	Proj. points	Playoff odds
Buffalo Sabres	104	67.2%
Florida Panthers	92	38.1%