Schedule / Matchup Preview

Florida Panthers vs Buffalo Sabres · Matchup Preview Based on 26-27 form — rosters current

Season 26-27
Matchup Preview vs Sabres · WED · DEC 30 · 6:00 PM CT ← Back to schedule
Upcoming
WED · DEC 30 · 6:00 PM CT
Amerant Bank Arena
SCRIPPS · MSG-B
Florida Panthers
Panthers
1–0–1
VS
Buffalo Sabres
Sabres
1–1–0
Upcoming
WED · DEC 30 · 6:00 PM CT
SCRIPPS · MSG-B
Florida Panthers
Home · Panthers
1–0–1
3 PTS
VS
Puck Drop In
The read
The problem is Peyton Krebs, who has 5 points in his last 4 against the Panthers. But Jacob Markstrom has Ryan McLeod figured out, 12 shots without a goal.
Amerant Bank Arena
Buffalo Sabres
Away · Sabres
1–1–0
2 PTS
Panthers
GOALIES
Sabres
Jacob Markstrom
Jacob Markstrom
Likely · 594-jacob-markstrom
.1000 SV% · — GAA · 1W
.899 SV% L5 · Cooling
VS
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
Expected
.784 SV% · 4.03 GAA · 1W
.847 SV% L5 · Cooling
Panthers
PROJECTED TOP LINES
Sabres
L1
Brady Tkachuk · Lars Eller · Sam Reinhart
L1
Josh Norris · Tage Thompson · Josh Doan
L2
Carter Verhaeghe · Sam Bennett · Matthew Tkachuk
L2
Zach Benson · Noah Ostlund · Jack Quinn
L3
Eetu Luostarinen · Anton Lundell · Sandis Vilmanis
L3
Peyton Krebs · Ryan McLeod · Konsta Helenius
L4
Bokondji Imama · Sam Lafferty · Garnet Hathaway
L4
Jiri Kulich · Sam Carrick · Beck Malenstyn
D1
Gustav Forsling · Aaron Ekblad
D1
Rasmus Dahlin · Mattias Samuelsson
D2
Niko Mikkola · Seth Jones
D2
Owen Power · Olen Zellweger
D3
Dmitry Kulikov · Radko Gudas
D3
Louis Crevier · Zach Metsa
PP1
Brady Tkachuk · Sam Bennett · Sam Reinhart · Seth Jones · Matthew Tkachuk
PP1
Jack Quinn · Zach Benson · Josh Doan · Tage Thompson · Rasmus Dahlin
PP2
Lars Eller · Anton Lundell · Carter Verhaeghe · Aaron Ekblad · Gustav Forsling
PP2
Konsta Helenius · Ryan McLeod · Noah Ostlund · Owen Power · Josh Norris
PK1
Lars Eller · Sam Reinhart · Gustav Forsling · Aaron Ekblad
PK1
Ryan McLeod · Beck Malenstyn · Owen Power · Mattias Samuelsson
PK2
Anton Lundell · Eetu Luostarinen · Niko Mikkola · Radko Gudas
PK2
Josh Norris · Zach Benson · Rasmus Dahlin · Louis Crevier
PanthersProjected lines
L1
Brady Tkachuk · Lars Eller · Sam Reinhart
L2
Carter Verhaeghe · Sam Bennett · Matthew Tkachuk
L3
Eetu Luostarinen · Anton Lundell · Sandis Vilmanis
L4
Bokondji Imama · Sam Lafferty · Garnet Hathaway
D1
Gustav Forsling · Aaron Ekblad
D2
Niko Mikkola · Seth Jones
D3
Dmitry Kulikov · Radko Gudas
PP1
Brady Tkachuk · Sam Bennett · Sam Reinhart · Seth Jones · Matthew Tkachuk
PP2
Lars Eller · Anton Lundell · Carter Verhaeghe · Aaron Ekblad · Gustav Forsling
PK1
Lars Eller · Sam Reinhart · Gustav Forsling · Aaron Ekblad
PK2
Anton Lundell · Eetu Luostarinen · Niko Mikkola · Radko Gudas
SabresProjected lines
L1
Josh Norris · Tage Thompson · Josh Doan
L2
Zach Benson · Noah Ostlund · Jack Quinn
L3
Peyton Krebs · Ryan McLeod · Konsta Helenius
L4
Jiri Kulich · Sam Carrick · Beck Malenstyn
D1
Rasmus Dahlin · Mattias Samuelsson
D2
Owen Power · Olen Zellweger
D3
Louis Crevier · Zach Metsa
PP1
Jack Quinn · Zach Benson · Josh Doan · Tage Thompson · Rasmus Dahlin
PP2
Konsta Helenius · Ryan McLeod · Noah Ostlund · Owen Power · Josh Norris
PK1
Ryan McLeod · Beck Malenstyn · Owen Power · Mattias Samuelsson
PK2
Josh Norris · Zach Benson · Rasmus Dahlin · Louis Crevier
Jameson Olive · Oct 3 · 4:26 PM CT Last Game (2026-10-03) · Oct 4 · 6:06 AM CT
Panthers
INJURY REPORT
Sabres
Gustav Forsling
DAY-TO-DAY · Upper body
Alex Lyon
IR · Upper body · Expected back Oct 6
Aleksander Barkov
IR · Left knee · Expected back Oct 27
Conor Timmins
IR · Lower body · Expected back Oct 17
Brad Marchand
IR · Lower body · Expected back Oct 25
Topias Leinonen
IR · Lower body · Expected back Oct 10
MacKenzie Entwistle
IR · Undisclosed injury · Expected back Oct 10
Jack Rathbone
IR · Undisclosed injury · Expected back Oct 24
Jonah Gadjovich
IR · Upper body (surgery) · Expected back Oct 17
Jason Zucker
IR · Abdomen (surgery) · Expected back Oct 15
PanthersInjury report
Gustav Forsling
DAY-TO-DAY · Upper body
Aleksander Barkov
IR · Left knee · Expected back Oct 27
Brad Marchand
IR · Lower body · Expected back Oct 25
MacKenzie Entwistle
IR · Undisclosed injury · Expected back Oct 10
Jonah Gadjovich
IR · Upper body (surgery) · Expected back Oct 17
SabresInjury report
Alex Lyon
IR · Upper body · Expected back Oct 6
Conor Timmins
IR · Lower body · Expected back Oct 17
Topias Leinonen
IR · Lower body · Expected back Oct 10
Jack Rathbone
IR · Undisclosed injury · Expected back Oct 24
Jason Zucker
IR · Abdomen (surgery) · Expected back Oct 15
Jameson Olive · Oct 3 · 4:26 PM CT Last Game (2026-10-03) · Oct 4 · 6:06 AM CT
STORYLINE
The Panthers lost their last game in overtime and are 1-0-1 in their first 2 games. The Sabres won their last game and are 1-1-0 in their first 2 games.

Matchup Intel

The problem is Peyton Krebs, who has 5 points in his last 4 against the Panthers. But Jacob Markstrom has Ryan McLeod figured out, 12 shots without a goal.

Dmitry Kulikov is 3 goals shy of 100 career goals.

The numbers behind it
Player
Peyton Krebs has 5 points in his last 4 games against Florida. See the games →
(Buffalo)
5 pts, last 4 vs FLA
Matchup
Brady Tkachuk has 14 shots on Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen without a goal.
(Florida)
0/14 vs Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
Matchup
Ryan McLeod has 12 shots on Jacob Markstrom without a goal.
(Buffalo)
0/12 vs Jacob Markstrom
Milestone
Dmitry Kulikov is 3 goals shy of 100 career goals.
97 career goals