Chicago Blackhawks at Buffalo SabresOct 3, 2026

7:00 PM ETSaturday, Oct 3, 2026· KeyBank Center

away

Chicago BlackhawksCHI

home

Buffalo SabresBUF

Preview

Probable goalies, start odds, schedule edge and each team's lines from its last game.

Schedule Edge

No schedule edge

CHIaway−1.0 pts

1 day rest · 2,729 km travel · +2 h

2 h time-zone change −1.0 pts

BUFhome±0.0 pts

1 day rest · 472 km travel

No meaningful schedule edge: CHI (1 day rest) at BUF (1 day rest).

· Every game this week →

Chicago Blackhawks

Goalie: Spencer Knight Projected
Start probability: Spencer Knight88%Expected
Arvid Soderblom12%
Schedule: Rested
Last game: L 0–6 at UTA · Oct 1

L1Greenway – Smith – Greene
10:23
L2Kane – Bertuzzi – Frondell
7:42
L3Teravainen – Nazar – Kantserov
4:35
L4Donato – Lardis – Moore
4:07
D1Kaiser – Levshunov
11:17
D2Byram – Vlasic
10:31
D3Cole – Rinzel
10:13
PP1Kane – Bertuzzi – Byram – Kantserov – Frondell
3:51

Projected CHI lines →·CHI goalies →·Goalie start planner →

Buffalo Sabres

Goalie: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen Projected
Start probability: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen86%Expected
Alex Lyon8%
Colten Ellis6%
Schedule: Rested
Last game: L 3–6 at CBJ · Oct 1

L1Quinn – Ostlund – Benson
11:13
L2Thompson – Norris – Doan
10:19
L3McLeod – Krebs – Helenius
10:05
L4Carrick – Malenstyn – Kulich
6:00
D1Samuelsson – Dahlin
13:10
D2Crevier – Power
10:21
D3Grzelcyk – Metsa
8:13
PP1Thompson – Dahlin – Quinn – Doan – Benson
4:22

Projected BUF lines →·BUF goalies →·Goalie start planner →

Game day: all games on Oct 3.

Methodology

Shot locations come from the NHL play-by-play, normalised so each shooter attacks the same way, then flipped so the home team attacks right. On-ice stats and lines come from the shift charts: a unit is the exact set of skaters sharing the ice, and CF% is the share of all shot attempts while they were out. Head-to-head cells are 5v5 time against each opponent. Expected goals and the Pressure Index appear as their models are released.