Who is favoured, Los Angeles Kings or Buffalo Sabres?

Buffalo Sabres, at 65.4% 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.

Los Angeles Kings at Buffalo Sabres, Sun, Dec 20: prediction and odds forecast

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2026-27 forecast · Sun, Dec 20, 6:00 PM ET

Los Angeles KingsLAK

90 proj. pts · 44.3% playoffs

Darcy Kuemper · 0.891 SV%

Bvs6:00 PM ET

Buffalo SabresBUF

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

LAK controlled play at 5v5 last season, 51.7% of the expected goals to 50.7%; BUF's power play ran at 19.7% against a LAK kill at 75.3%.

In goal, neither team has named a starter. Last season Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (BUF) saved -1.3 goals above expected to Darcy Kuemper's -22.9, on save percentages of 0.910 and 0.891.

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 Los Angeles Kings 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.

LAK

Darcy Kuemper

SV%: 0.891
GSAx: -22.9
GAA: 2.78
Record: 19-14-15

50 games, 2025-26

BUF

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

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

35 games, 2025-26

LAK	Metric	BUF
51.7%	xGF% (5v5)	50.7%
50.5%	Shot share	49.7%
2.6	Goals for / game	3.4
2.9	Goals against / game	2.9
17.1%	Power play	19.7%
75.3%	Penalty kill	81.0%
49.8%	Faceoffs	45.9%

Who drives it

2026-27 projected points

Los Angeles Kings

Player	Pos	G	A	Pts
Artemi Panarin	L	25	47	72
Adrian Kempe	R	27	31	58
Quinton Byfield	R	22	31	52
Kevin Fiala	L	22	28	50

Buffalo Sabres

Player	Pos	G	A	Pts
Tage Thompson	C	35	33	68

Date	Game	Pick	Score	Result
2026-03-21	BUF @ LAK	BUF	BUF 4–1 LAK	Correct
2026-01-29	LAK @ BUF	BUF	LAK 1–4 BUF	Correct

Team	Proj. points	Playoff odds
Los Angeles Kings	90	44.3%
Buffalo Sabres	104	67.2%

Every pick is free. The Edge is the rest.

The read

In goal

Last season, side by side

Who drives it

Schedule around it

Last season, head to head

Season outlook