The Panthers (1-0-2) host the Sabres (1-1-0) on Dec 30, 2026, 7:00 PM ET.




Lines post the morning of the game.
Lines post the morning of the game and are updated through the day.
The model's winner call: locked before the start, graded in public, built on the market's price.
Goals a game by period, regular season (a shootout is not a period; overtime is per game played). The number on top is goals for, under it goals against. BUF: 2 from 2026–27, 8 from 2025–26. FLA: 3 from 2026–27, 7 from 2025–26.
The starter is not confirmed. This is Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who started BUF's last game, going into this one.
| Start | Rest before | Shots against | Saves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 3 vs CHI | 1 day | 15 | 12 |
| Oct 1 @ CBJ | 135 days | 21 | 16 |
| May 18 vs MTL | 1 day | 25 | 22 |
| May 16 @ MTL | 1 day | 18 | 18 |
| May 14 vs MTL | 1 day | 23 | 18 |
The starter is not confirmed. This is Jacob Markstrom, who started FLA's last game, going into this one.
| Start | Rest before | Shots against | Saves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 4 @ ANA | 4 days | 21 | 18 |
| Sep 29 @ CAR | — | 15 | 15 |
Current report — a live snapshot, not what it said the day this game was played.
Times are when the report changed on our end, last 30 days.
Tap or hover a square for its attempts and goals.
Each square is 10 feet of the offensive half, goal at the right, shaded by attempts (shots on goal, misses and blocks) from there; both teams share one scale. A volt dot marks where goals came from. Last 10 games for each team, regular season and playoffs, from our stored play-by-play.
Tap or hover a square for its shots, goals and save percentage.
shots faced (darker = more)goals against (squares with 17+)
| Distance from the net | Shots | Goals | Save % | League | Compared with the league |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Point blank10 ft or less | 346 | 72 | .792 | ||
| Close10–25 ft | 582 | 84 | .856 | ||
| Mid-range25–40 ft | 589 | 64 | .891 | ||
| Long40 ft and out | 902 | 24 | .973 | ||
| League = every goalie in a complete game, 148,981 shots on goal. * under 25 shots. | |||||
Counts games he played start to finish: the play-by-play names the goalie on a save but not on a goal, so a goal can be placed only when he was the only one in net (empty-net goals and the shootout are left out). Save percentage is saves over shots on goal; a square or row with few shots swings widely. Where shots came from, not a forecast.
Tap or hover a square for its shots, goals and save percentage.
shots faced (darker = more)goals against (squares with 14+)
| Distance from the net | Shots | Goals | Save % | League | Compared with the league |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Point blank10 ft or less | 357 | 59 | .835 | ||
| Close10–25 ft | 546 | 93 | .830 | ||
| Mid-range25–40 ft | 643 | 69 | .893 | ||
| Long40 ft and out | 954 | 40 | .958 | ||
| League = every goalie in a complete game, 148,981 shots on goal. * under 25 shots. | |||||
Counts games he played start to finish: the play-by-play names the goalie on a save but not on a goal, so a goal can be placed only when he was the only one in net (empty-net goals and the shootout are left out). Save percentage is saves over shots on goal; a square or row with few shots swings widely. Where shots came from, not a forecast.
No props posted for this game yet. Books post NHL props the morning of the game; see the full props board.
| Measure | BUF | FLA | League |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shot attempts and shots | |||
| Shot-attempt share | 51.8%#10 of 32 | 52.0%#9 of 32 | 49.8% |
| Even-strength attempt share | 51.3%#11 of 32 | 52.7%#8 of 32 | 49.8% |
| Shots-on-goal share | 53.4%#8 of 32 | 50.4%#16 of 32 | 49.9% |
| Attempts for per game | 55.0#19 of 32 | 58.2#11 of 32 | 56.5 |
| Attempts against per game | 51.2#30 of 32 | 53.7#22 of 32 | 56.8 |
| Special teams | |||
| Power play | 5.9%#30 of 322 goals on 34 chances | 10.3%#27 of 323 goals on 29 chances | 21.1% |
| Power plays per game | 3.40#3 of 32 | 2.90#15 of 32 | 2.77 |
| Penalty kill | 78.1%#18 of 3225 of 32 killed | 69.4%#26 of 3225 of 36 killed | 78.9% |
| Times shorthanded per game | 3.20#3 of 32 | 3.60#1 of 32 | 2.76 |
Last 10 games counted back from each team's latest regular-season game. BUF: 10 games, 8 from 2025–26. FLA: 10 games, 7 from 2025–26. Rank 1 is the highest in the league, even for attempts against, and a rank is a place, not a grade. Attempts are goals, saves, misses and blocked shots from the play-by-play (even strength means neither team on a power play); a game it did not cover is left out. Past games, not a forecast.
| Player | GP | G | A | PTS | SOG | TOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rasmus Dahlin | 14 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 32 | 22:49 |
| Zach Benson | 15 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 34 | 15:23 |
| Tage Thompson | 14 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 37 | 19:31 |
| Josh Norris | 15 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 27 | 15:19 |
| Alex Tuch | 14 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 35 | 19:45 |
| Jason Zucker | 14 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 25 | 15:18 |
| Peyton Krebs | 15 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 19 | 14:27 |
| Josh Doan | 15 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 23 | 14:26 |
| Bowen Byram | 15 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 18 | 21:23 |
| Jack Quinn | 15 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 47 | 15:59 |
| Mattias Samuelsson | 14 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 15 | 21:32 |
| Owen Power | 15 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 19 | 20:52 |
| Player | GP | G | A | PTS | SOG | TOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew Tkachuk | 11 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 27 | 17:56 |
| A.J. Greer | 12 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 20 | 15:36 |
| Mackie Samoskevich | 12 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 22 | 15:29 |
| Seth Jones | 11 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 24:46 |
| Eetu Luostarinen | 15 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 20 | 16:52 |
| Cole Reinhardt | 12 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 15 | 13:05 |
| Carter Verhaeghe | 12 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 33 | 18:39 |
| Sam Bennett | 10 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 27 | 18:21 |
| Donovan Sebrango | 14 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 14 | 18:38 |
| Noah Gregor | 13 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 21 | 12:18 |
| Gustav Forsling | 13 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 24 | 22:36 |
| Michael Benning | 15 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 17:01 |
| Date | Road | Home | Winner | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 27, 2026 | BUF+1 | +1 | ||
| Feb 2, 2026 | BUF+2 | +2 | ||
| Jan 12, 2026 | FLA+1 | +1 |
| Date | Road | Home | Winner | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 18, 2025 | BUF+3 | +3 | ||
| Apr 12, 2025 | FLA+1 | +1 | ||
| Mar 8, 2025 | FLA+4 | +4 |
| Date | Road | Home | Winner | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2024 | FLA+3 | +3 | ||
| Oct 12, 2024 | BUF+3 | +3 |
From box scores and play-by-play. Prop lines from DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM and Caesars; hit rates are past games against a number, not a forecast or a pick. The goalie shown is the one who started the team's last game; the starter for this game is not confirmed. For information only, not betting advice. 21+ only. Gambling problem? Call or text 1-800-GAMBLER.
| Measure | BUF51-22-9 · last 82 games | FLA38-38-6 · last 82 games | League |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd period goals for | 1.20#5 of 32 | 0.82#31 of 32 | 1.04 |
| Goal margin | +0.6#3 of 32 | −0.4#27 of 32 | 0.0 |
| Shooting percentage | 12.8%#3 of 32 | 10.8%#22 of 32 | 11.3% |
| Times shorthanded per game | 2.80#19 of 32 | 3.41#1 of 32 | 2.87 |
| Attempts for per game | 57.4#21 of 32 | 61.1#6 of 32 | 58.2 |
| Shots against per game | 28.7#10 of 32 | 26.8#23 of 32 | 27.8 |
The 6 measures where these two sit furthest apart among the league's 32 ranked teams, over each team's last 82 regular-season games (Oct 2025 – Oct 2026). Rank 1 = highest in the league, even for points allowed. A rank says where a number sits, not which side it points to.