Who is favoured, Colorado Avalanche or Buffalo Sabres?

Buffalo Sabres, at 53.4% 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.

Colorado Avalanche at Buffalo Sabres, Thu, Jan 14: prediction and odds forecast

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2026-27 forecast · Thu, Jan 14, 7:30 PM ET

Colorado AvalancheCOL

107 proj. pts · 78.3% playoffs

Mackenzie Blackwood · 0.904 SV%

Cvs7:30 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

COL controlled play at 5v5 last season, 57.6% of the expected goals to 50.7%; BUF's power play ran at 19.7% against a COL kill at 84.0%.

In goal, neither team has named a starter. Last season Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (BUF) saved -1.3 goals above expected to Mackenzie Blackwood's -6.0, on save percentages of 0.910 and 0.904.

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 Colorado Avalanche 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.

COL

Mackenzie Blackwood

SV%: 0.904
GSAx: -6.0
GAA: 2.50
Record: 23-10-2

39 games, 2025-26

BUF

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

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

35 games, 2025-26

COL	Metric	BUF
57.6%	xGF% (5v5)	50.7%
56.3%	Shot share	49.7%
3.7	Goals for / game	3.4
2.4	Goals against / game	2.9
17.8%	Power play	19.7%
84.0%	Penalty kill	81.0%
51.2%	Faceoffs	45.9%

Who drives it

2026-27 projected points

Colorado Avalanche

Player	Pos	G	A	Pts
Nathan MacKinnon	C	38	70	108
Cale Makar	D	23	60	84
Martin Necas	C	29	51	80
Nazem Kadri	C	18	27	45

Buffalo Sabres

Player	Pos	G	A	Pts
Tage Thompson	C	35	33	68

Date	Game	Pick	Score	Result
2025-11-13	BUF @ COL	COL	BUF 3–6 COL	Correct
2025-10-13	COL @ BUF	COL	COL 3–1 BUF	Correct

Team	Proj. points	Playoff odds
Colorado Avalanche	107	78.3%
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