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Sabres vs Avalanche Game Overview
BUF vs COLRecords
Head-To-HeadLast 10
Win / Loss
8-2
Over / Under
4-6-0
| Date | Home | Result | ML | O/U | HSOG | ASOG | HPP | APP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 13, '25 | BUF |
3 - 1
|
COL -186 | u6.5 | 28 | 37 | 0-3 | 0-4 |
| Jan 02, '25 | COL |
6 - 5 (OT)
|
COL -200 | o6.5 | 29 | 21 | 1-3 | 2-3 |
| Dec 03, '24 | BUF |
5 - 4
|
COL -148 | o6.0 | 30 | 41 | 0-3 | 0-1 |
| Dec 13, '23 | COL |
5 - 1
|
COL -184 | u7.0 | 29 | 30 | 1-2 | 0-2 |
| Oct 29, '23 | BUF |
4 - 0
|
BUF +171 | u6.5 | 29 | 23 | 0-3 | 0-6 |
| Dec 15, '22 | COL |
4 - 2
|
BUF +154 | u6.5 | 41 | 21 | 0-2 | 1-2 |
| Dec 01, '22 | BUF |
6 - 4
|
COL -170 | o6.5 | 28 | 34 | 2-7 | 3-6 |
| Feb 19, '22 | BUF |
5 - 3
|
COL -409 | o6.0 | 32 | 36 | 0-1 | 0-2 |
| Jan 30, '22 | COL |
4 - 1
|
COL -576 | u6.5 | 36 | 31 | 1-4 | 0-4 |
| Feb 26, '20 | COL |
3 - 2
|
COL -199 | u6.0 | 34 | 33 | 2-3 | 0-2 |
BUF vs COL Preview
Last Meeting ( Oct 13, 2025 ) Colorado 3, Buffalo 1
Nathan MacKinnon has been on a two-week scoring binge, and the Colorado Avalanche would like him to keep it going when they meet the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night in Denver.
MacKinnon is riding a 10-game point streak and leads the NHL in scoring with 32 points (14 goals, 18 assists). His offense is even more important with the news that second-line winger Valeri Nichushkin will be out with a lower-body injury sustained in Tuesday night's 4-1 win over Anaheim.
"It's definitely a concern that he's not here (Wednesday) and left the game early (Tuesday) night," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said of Nichushkin (five goals, seven assists). "He's going to miss some time; I just don't know how much."
The Avalanche have won four games in a row and six of their last seven to move atop the NHL with 27 points.
Cale Makar has 23 points (six goals, 17 assists) to lead all NHL defensemen, Martin Necas has 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists), and Artturi Lehkonen has three goals over the last two games to push his season total to seven.
"I don't think our game is perfect by any means, but at this point in the season, I think we're doing a good job of making adjustments on the fly and trying to really hone in on the details of what makes us successful," captain Gabriel Landeskog said.
Thursday is setting up to be a potential trap game for Colorado, which has just one regulation loss, fewest in the league.
Buffalo, meanwhile, lost its fourth game in a row with a 5-2 setback to the Utah Mammoth on Wednesday, The Sabres remain the lone NHL team without a road win (0-4-2).
The Avalanche won the first meeting of the season, 3-1 in Buffalo, on Oct. 13.
The Sabres are without top-line center Jiri Kulich, who has not played since Nov. 1 due to blood clots.
Buffalo also is without wingers Jason Zucker (viral infection) and Zach Benson (lower body), although Benson could be activated from injured reserve during this current four-game road trip.
The Sabres rely on leading scorer Alex Tuch with 14 points (six goals, eight assists), followed by Tage Thompson's 12 points (six goals, six assists).
Defenseman Michael Kesselring is working his way back into rhythm after starting the season on IR with a lower-body injury. He has played seven games since returning and has yet to score.
"Scoring, I know it's going to happen," said Kesselring, who had 29 points (seven goals, 22 assists) with Utah last season. "It is a little frustrating. Especially (on a) new team, you want to get your first one out of the way.
"But that will come. There's other parts of my game that I'm more focused on right now. ... I've never, with the injury, been out that long. It's kind of tough to get back in a rhythm here, but it's been a few weeks now, so I expect myself to get going."
--Field Level Media
BUF vs COLInjury report
Buffalo's Injuries
| Player | POS | Status | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. Tuch | RW | Day To Day - Illness( Mar 17, '26) | Mar 17, '26 | |
| Tuch did not play for Tuesday's (Mar. 17) matchup versus the Golden Knight. | ||||
| T. Pearson | LW | Day To Day - Lower-Body( Mar 17, '26) | Mar 17, '26 | |
| Pearson did not play in Tuesday's (Mar. 17) versus the Golden Knights. | ||||
| J. Kulich | C | Out For Season - Ear( Mar 05, '26) | Mar 05, '26 | |
| The Sabres said that Kulich is expected to miss the remainder of the 2025-26 season. | ||||
| J. Greenway | LW | Out - Abdomen( Feb 24, '26) | Feb 24, '26 | |
| The Buffalo Sabres placed F Jordan Greenway on injured reserve on Wednesday (Feb. 25). | ||||
| C. Timmins | D | Out - Leg( Feb 17, '26) | Feb 17, '26 | |
| The Buffalo Sabres said on Wednesday (Feb. 18) that Timmins is now skating but not in day-to-day status. | ||||
| J. Danforth | RW | Out - Lower Body( Jan 25, '26) | Jan 25, '26 | |
| The Buffalo Sabres said on Monday (Jan. 26) that Danforth is trending toward a post-Olympic return to action, per Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald. | ||||
Colorado's Injuries
| Player | POS | Status | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R. Colton | C | Day To Day - Upper Body( Mar 18, '26) | Mar 18, '26 | |
| Colton did not play on Wednesday's (Mar. 18) game versus the Stars. | ||||
| L. O'Connor | RW | Out - Hip( Mar 16, '26) | Mar 16, '26 | |
| The Avalanche said on Tuesday (Mar. 17) that O'Connor will go on the road trip with the Avalanche and won’t be doing any AHL conditioning stints. | ||||
| G. Landeskog | LW | Out - Lower-Body( Mar 07, '26) | Mar 07, '26 | |
| The Avalanche said that Landeskog is week-to-week and won't play against Minnesota on Sunday (Mar. 8). | ||||
| A. Lehkonen | LW | Out - Upper-body( Mar 02, '26) | Mar 02, '26 | |
| The Avalanche said that Lehkonen is OUT for Tuesday's (Mar. 3) game against the Ducks and is expected to miss some time, per Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette. | ||||
GoaltendersLast 5
W/L
1-3-1-0
GAA
3.00
Save %
.899
| Date | Score | W/L | GA | SA | SV% | SO | ML | O/U | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C.Ellis | Nov 12, 2025 | UTAH 5 - BUF 2 | L | 4 | 36 | .889 | - | L +172 | o6.5 |
| A.Lyon | Nov 8, 2025 | CAR 6 - BUF 3 | L | 4 | 33 | .879 | - | L +205 | o6.5 |
| U.Luukkonen | Nov 6, 2025 | BUF 0 - STL 3 | L | 2 | 16 | .875 | - | L -137 | u6.5 |
| A.Lyon | Nov 4, 2025 | BUF 1 - UTAH 2 (OT) | - | 2 | 35 | .943 | - | L +116 | u6.5 |
| U.Luukkonen | Nov 1, 2025 | BUF 4 - WAS 3 (SO) | W | 3 | 34 | .912 | - | W -122 | o6.5 |
W/L
4-0-1-0
GAA
2.20
Save %
.919
| Date | Score | W/L | GA | SA | SV% | SO | ML | O/U | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S.Wedgewood | Nov 11, 2025 | COL 4 - ANA 1 | W | 1 | 36 | .972 | - | W -260 | u6.5 |
| M.Blackwood | Nov 9, 2025 | VAN 4 - COL 5 (OT) | W | 4 | 33 | .879 | - | W -210 | o6.5 |
| S.Wedgewood | Nov 8, 2025 | EDM 1 - COL 9 | W | 1 | 24 | .958 | - | W -125 | o6.5 |
| S.Wedgewood | Nov 4, 2025 | COL 3 - TB 2 | W | 2 | 24 | .917 | - | W -152 | u6.5 |
| M.Blackwood | Nov 1, 2025 | SJ 3 - COL 2 (OT) | - | 3 | 23 | .870 | - | L -265 | u6.5 |
BUF vs COLStats
Offense vs Defense
Goals
| OFFENSE |
Stat | DEFENSE |
|---|---|---|
| 2.69 | Total | 2.53 |
| 0.69 | 1st Period | 0.88 |
| 1.00 | 2nd Period | 0.88 |
| 0.94 | 3rd Period | 0.47 |
| 0.00 | OT | 0.18 |
Shots
| OFFENSE |
Stat | DEFENSE |
|---|---|---|
| 28.31 | Total | 26.18 |
| 8.75 | 1st Period | 9.59 |
| 10.75 | 2nd Period | 7.59 |
| 8.56 | 3rd Period | 8.53 |
| 0.25 | OT | 0.47 |
Shot Pct vs. Save Pct
| SHOOTING |
Stat | SAVE PCT. |
|---|---|---|
| 0.09 | Total | 0.90 |
| 0.08 | 1st Period | 0.91 |
| 0.09 | 2nd Period | 0.88 |
| 0.11 | 3rd Period | 0.94 |
| 0.00 | OT | 0.62 |
Power Play vs Penalty Kill
| POWERPLAY |
Stat | PENALTY KILL |
|---|---|---|
| 8 - 48 | G/Att vs. GA/Att | 6 - 54 |
| 16.67 | PP % vs. PK % | 88.89 |
Goaltenders
| Buffalo Goaltenders |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | S | SV | SV% | WL | ||
| Colten Ellis | 67 | 61 | 0.910 | 1-1-0 | ||
| Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen | 73 | 64 | 0.877 | 1-1-1 | ||
| Alex Lyon | 362 | 330 | 0.912 | 3-5-3 | ||