PlayDecoded
Menu

Buffalo Sabres at Tampa Bay Lightning

Buffalo Sabres vs Tampa Bay Lightning head-to-head

NHLregular • 2026-27 Season
Scheduled
Lightning logo
Lightning
Tampa Bay
63%
vs
Sabres logo
Sabres
Buffalo
37%
TBL 63%37% BUF
Prediction Confidence:
Moderate

Tampa Bay Lightning 63% to win. The top 3 signals favoring Lightning:

  • Home Field Advantage. Lightning are 6-1 at home this season; Sabres are 1-6 on the road (divisional game, reduced advantage)
  • Recent Form. Lightning (7-3) in better form than Sabres (4-4)
  • ELO Rating. Lightning ELO 1532 vs Sabres ELO 1484 (diff: +48)

What would change the call

Win probability if a leading factor were even

  • If the home-field edge were neutral: TBL 57% (−6)
  • If the recent-form edge were neutral: TBL 60% (−3)
  • If the rating edge were neutral: TBL 61% (−2)

Make Your Prediction

Sign in to make predictions

View leaderboard to see rankings

Team Comparison

Head-to-head snapshot based on our model inputs

Sabres (away)
Lightning (home)
37%
Win probability
63%
0
High-impact factors
0
0
Players ruled out
0

Game Preview

Sabres at Lightning

The Sabres visit the Lightning at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, FL in 2026-27 NHL regular season play.

Our model gives the Lightning a 63% chance of winning, giving them a clear but not overwhelming advantage. For the Sabres to win, several key factors would need to swing their way.

Key factors driving this prediction:

  • Home Field Advantage favors the Lightning (medium): Lightning are 6-1 at home this season; Sabres are 1-6 on the road (divisional game, reduced advantage)
  • Recent Form favors the Lightning (low): Lightning (7-3) in better form than Sabres (4-4)
  • ELO Rating favors the Lightning (low): Lightning ELO 1532 vs Sabres ELO 1484 (diff: +48)
Lightning63%

is favored to win

Key Factor
Home Field Advantage
Favors TBL

Key Factors

What's driving the win probability for this game

  • Home Field AdvantageFavors Tampa Bay Lightning
  • Recent FormFavors Tampa Bay Lightning
  • ELO RatingFavors Tampa Bay Lightning
  • Turnover DifferentialNeutral
  • Offensive EfficiencyNeutral
  • Defensive EfficiencyNeutral
Sign in to see factor scores, charts, and what-if simulations

What's Driving This Game

Each factor's contribution to the final win probability

BUF
TBL
Home Field Advantage
Recent Form
ELO Rating
Favours BUF|Favours TBL

Premium feature: factor breakdown

Start 14-day free trial →

Understanding the win probability calculation

1 factor not shown (insufficient data)

Model version: 1.1.0 • Calculated: 10/25/2026, 12:40:06 PM

Get the weekly model report card

Every Monday: last week's hit rate, Brier score, and the model's biggest misses. One email a week.

Key Players

Sabres

Alex LyonG
Ukko-Pekka LuukkonenG
Colten EllisG
Noah OstlundC
Ryan McLeodC

Lightning

Dennis HildebyG
Andrei VasilevskiyG
Anthony CirelliC
Zemgus GirgensonsC
Conor GeekieC

Learn About Our Analysis

Learn about the factors behind our predictions

More games

Next and previous games for each team, plus others from this date. Win probabilities use the same display assessment as the game page.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Buffalo Sabres

Other games on Nov 22, 2026

Frequently Asked Questions

Lightning has a 63% win probability, while Sabres has a 37% win probability based on our analysis.

Our model considers offensive and defensive efficiency, rest days, injury impact, and historical performance.

This game is being played at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, FL.

View all NHL games