Florida Panthers vs Buffalo Sabres Prediction & Preview - 1/12/2026
Updated July 9, 2026
The Florida Panthers travel to Buffalo to face the Sabres on Monday night in an interesting matchup in the Atlantic Division. Buffalo has surged with 12 wins in 13 games, while Florida has struggled with consistency of late and will try to work their way back into the Eastern Conference playoff picture. Here, I break down all the action on the ice and you can find my Panthers vs Sabres prediction here.
Pick: | Sabres ML |
Confidence: | 4/5 |
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The Buffalo Sabres are playing some of their best hockey of the season, with a 12 wins in their last 13 games. They followed up an impressive 5-2 triumph over the Rangers with another multi-goal victory over the Canucks to extend their streak. This stretch has pushed Buffalo into a comfortable Wild Card position in the Eastern Conference standings and they will try to keep moving up in the Atlantic Division.
The Panthers have struggled for consistency. Florida’s recent results stand at a 4-5-1 record over its last 10 games, with the offense failing to sustain momentum. The two-time defending champions ended a two-game losing streak with a win in their last outing against the Montreal Canadiens. But there is still work to be done if the Panthers want to play playoff hockey again this season.
Florida is expected to start Sergei Bobrovsky in net, a veteran stopper who has had ups and downs but has also had success against Buffalo in past meetings. His career numbers against the Sabres are solid and he brings big game experience despite his struggles this year. Buffalo’s expected starter is Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who has delivered a reliable performance in net with a save percentage north of .900 this season. He has been part of the reason why the Sabres have enjoyed their extended run of victories lately.
Buffalo’s offense is paced by Tage Thompson, who leads the Sabres in points and goals and has been an integral part of their scoring output. Jack Quinn has been lights-out recently with multiple multi-goal games and Josh Doan continues to be a consistent contributor. On the Florida side, Brad Marchand leads the team in scoring but has missed time recently due to an injury, and the absence of defenseman Seth Jones for weeks has left a noticeable gap on the blue line.
Score Projection: Panthers 2 – Sabres 4
Win Probability: Panthers 42%, Sabres 58%
I project that the Sabres will come away with a win in a tight game on Monday night. The Sabres are playing at an unbelievably high level of late and that should continue against a Panthers team that has struggled to maintain any sort of consistency on the ice this season.
Jay Sanin is the GM and Head of Sports at ATS.io. He has been writing about sports gambling since 2013, handicapping tens of thousands of sporting events. He plays sides and totals aggressively across most sports and is more selective in player prop markets. He does his own modeling across most sports, and his family is jealous of how much time he spends on his precious spreadsheets.
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