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← Stats / LAK @ BUF

LAK @ BUF

Sunday, December 20, 2026 · 5:00 PM CT

How the Matchup Page Works

Lines

Before puck drop the page uses Hard Rock Bet's latest moneyline, puck line and total; once the game is final it switches to Hard Rock's closing line so you can see how each bet graded. Hard Rock only — no other sportsbook is shown. Hard Rock doesn't post period totals to our feed, so the period table shows DraftKings and FanDuel lines (labelled DK / FD) and grades at DraftKings' number (FanDuel's if DraftKings has none, 1.5 if neither has posted); the 0.5 / 1.5 / 2.5 chips grade at a fixed line instead. vs DK/FD Close is each team's record against past games' DraftKings (else FanDuel) closing period total.

Betting trends

Each team's hit rate at tonight's number: Season (last season until 5 games are played), L5 / L10, Venue (home games for the home team, road games for the visitor) and H2H (meetings this season and last). vs HR Close is the record against each past game's own Hard Rock closing line (moneyline: in the role — favorite or underdog — the team has tonight). Trends only use games played before this one.

Totals and puck lines are graded on the official final score (overtime counts; the shootout winner gets one goal). Period totals use regulation goals of that period only.

Props, goalies, H2H

Player props lists every Hard Rock line for this game with Season / L10 / H2H over rates at that line; after the game the actual stat is shown. Goalies shows each team's starter from ESPN's probable-goalie report: Confirmed once the team or a beat reporter confirms it, Expected before that, refreshed every 30 minutes on game days. With no report yet it falls back to the team's most recent starter (Last start). After the game it shows the real starters from the box score. Injuries lists both teams' players on ESPN's injury report (Day-To-Day, Out, Injured Reserve) before puck drop. Head-to-head lists recent meetings with period scores and how the Hard Rock closing total graded.

Informational only. Not betting advice.

Los Angeles Kings
2-5-2 · Away
5:00 PM CT
Buffalo Sabres
4-4-3 · Home
Hard Rock Lines Hard Rock hasn't posted this game yet
Moneyline
LAK — · BUF —
Puck Line
—
Total
—
Betting Trends Season
MarketTeamLineSeasonL5L10VenueH2Hvs HR Close
Puck Line
cover %
 LAK+1.5 56%
5-4
40%
2-3
50%
5-5
67%
4-2
0%
0-2
-4.65u
3-6
BUF-1.5 9%
1-10
0%
0-5
10%
1-9
17%
1-5
100%
2-0
-2.18u
5-6
Moneyline
win %
 LAK — 22%
2-7
40%
2-3
20%
2-8
33%
2-4
0%
0-2
-4.88u
2-7
BUF — 36%
4-7
20%
1-4
40%
4-6
50%
3-3
100%
2-0
-3.79u
4-7
Period Totals grade at DK/FD line 0.5 1.5 2.5 · Hard Rock posts no period totals — DraftKings / FanDuel shown
PeriodDK / FDTeamSeasonL5L10VenueH2Hvs DK/FD CloseAvg goalsGF / GA
1st Period
over 2.5
 no DK/FD line LAK 33%
3-6
40%
2-3
30%
3-7
33%
2-4
0%
0-2
44%
4-5
 1.67 0.89 / 0.78
BUF 55%
6-5
60%
3-2
50%
5-5
33%
2-4
0%
0-2
82%
9-2
 2.36 0.91 / 1.45
2nd Period
over 2.5
 no DK/FD line LAK 22%
2-7
0%
0-5
20%
2-8
33%
2-4
0%
0-2
44%
4-5
 2.00 0.67 / 1.33
BUF 36%
4-7
20%
1-4
30%
3-7
33%
2-4
0%
0-2
82%
9-2
 2.27 0.64 / 1.64
3rd Period
over 2.5
 no DK/FD line LAK 44%
4-5
40%
2-3
40%
4-6
50%
3-3
50%
1-1
56%
5-4
 1.89 0.67 / 1.22
BUF 0%
0-11
0%
0-5
0%
0-10
0%
0-6
50%
1-1
0%
0-11
 1.45 1.09 / 0.36
Team Comparison '26-27
LAKBUF
Record (W-L-OTL)2-5-24-4-3
Points %33.3%50.0%
Goals for / game2.332.82
Goals against / game3.563.73
Shots for / game27.226.4
Shots against / game29.126.5
Power play %14.8%10.5%
Penalty kill %65.5%69.2%
Faceoff %51.3%48.1%
1st period GF / GA0.89 / 0.780.91 / 1.45
2nd period GF / GA0.67 / 1.330.64 / 1.64
3rd period GF / GA0.67 / 1.221.09 / 0.36
Avg game total5.896.55
Probable Goalies ESPN confirmed / expected, else last starter
LAK · Darcy Kuemper Last start
Last start Oct 22 · 6 GS · SV% .890 · GAA 3.55
BUF · Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen Last start
Last start Oct 21 · 7 GS · SV% .866 · GAA 3.56
Player Props Hard Rock lines for this game · over rates at each line

No Hard Rock player lines for this game yet — they usually post the morning of game day.

Injuries ESPN injury report
LAKStatusNote
Quinton Byfield OUT Upper Body out
Alex Turcotte IR Undisclosed ir
Jakub Dvorak IR Upper Body ir-nr
Jan Jenik IR Undisclosed Jenik (undisclosed) was placed on non-roster injured reserve by Los Angeles on Thursday, per Zach Dooley of LA Kings Insider.
Kevin Fiala IR Lower Leg Fiala (lower leg fracture) is at least three weeks away from being ready to play, Zach Dooley of the Kings' official site reports Thursday.
BUFStatusNote
Justin Danforth OUT Upper Body out
Jiri Kulich OUT Face Kulich (face) is back in Buffalo for evaluation and won't play against Washington on Saturday, according to Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550.
Sam Carrick IR Upper Body ir
Alex Lyon IR Upper Body Lyon (upper body) had a setback in his recovery and is without a timeline to return, the team announced Thursday.
Matt Grzelcyk IR Lower Body Grzelcyk (lower body) suffered a "flare-up" and could be out for at least "a few days," head coach Lindy Ruff told Rachel Lenzi of The Buffalo News on Tuesday.
Conor Timmins IR Lower Body Timmins (lower body) doesn't have a timeline for his return yet, according to Heather Engel of NHL.com on Tuesday.
Jack Rathbone IR Undisclosed ir-nr
Head-to-Head last 10 meetings
DateWhereScoreP1P2P3TotalHR CloseWinner
Mar 21, 2026 at LAK BUF 4–1 0–11–03–0 5 6.5 U BUF
Jan 29, 2026 at BUF BUF 4–1 2–01–11–0 5 5.5 U BUF
Nov 20, 2024 at LAK BUF 1–0 0–00–01–0 1 5.5 U BUF
Oct 10, 2024 at BUF BUF 1–3 0–01–00–3 4 6 U LAK
Feb 13, 2024 at BUF BUF 7–0 3–02–02–0 7 — BUF
Jan 24, 2024 at LAK BUF 5–3 1–32–02–0 8 — BUF
Feb 13, 2023 at LAK BUF 2–5 0–00–42–1 7 — LAK
Dec 13, 2022 at BUF BUF 6–0 0–00–06–0 6 — BUF
Mar 6, 2022 at BUF BUF 0–3 0–00–10–2 3 — LAK
Oct 31, 2021 at LAK BUF 2–3 0–02–10–2 5 — LAK