Who is favoured, Montréal Canadiens or Buffalo Sabres?

Buffalo Sabres, at 56.9% 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.

Montréal Canadiens at Buffalo Sabres, Mon, Jan 18: prediction and odds forecast

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2026-27 forecast · Mon, Jan 18, 2:00 PM ET

Montréal CanadiensMTL

102 proj. pts · 61.2% playoffs

Samuel Montembeault · 0.872 SV%

Bvs2:00 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

at 5v5 last season the two were level on expected goals (50.7% to 50.0%); BUF's power play ran at 19.7% against a MTL kill at 77.5%.

In goal, neither team has named a starter. Last season Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (BUF) saved -1.3 goals above expected to Samuel Montembeault's -23.9, on save percentages of 0.910 and 0.872.

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 Montréal Canadiens 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.

MTL

Samuel Montembeault

SV%: 0.872
GSAx: -23.9
GAA: 3.43
Record: 10-8-4

25 games, 2025-26

BUF

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

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

35 games, 2025-26

MTL	Metric	BUF
50.0%	xGF% (5v5)	50.7%
48.3%	Shot share	49.7%
3.4	Goals for / game	3.4
3.0	Goals against / game	2.9
23.5%	Power play	19.7%
77.5%	Penalty kill	81.0%
51.4%	Faceoffs	45.9%

Who drives it

2026-27 projected points

Montréal Canadiens

Player	Pos	G	A	Pts
Nick Suzuki	C	29	60	90
Lane Hutson	D	11	67	77
Cole Caufield	R	41	35	76
Juraj Slafkovský	L	24	38	62

Buffalo Sabres

Player	Pos	G	A	Pts
Tage Thompson	C	35	33	68

Last season, head to head

ledger

Date	Game	Pick	Score	Result
2026-01-31	MTL @ BUF	BUF	MTL 4–2 BUF	Missed
2026-01-22	BUF @ MTL	MTL	BUF 4–2 MTL	Missed
2026-01-15	MTL @ BUF	MTL	MTL 3–5 BUF	Missed
2025-10-20	BUF @ MTL	MTL	BUF 2–4 MTL	Correct

Season outlook

projected standings

Team	Proj. points	Playoff odds
Montréal Canadiens	102	61.2%
Buffalo Sabres	104	67.2%