NHL futures odds, predictions: Sabres battle Canadiens in second round of 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs

The Buffalo Sabres ended a pair of lengthy droughts during the 2025-26 NHL season, winning their first division title since 2010 to earn their first postseason appearance since the following year. They halted another in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs by defeating the Boston Bruins in the opening round for their first series victory since 2007.

Buffalo attempts to stop another dry spell when it faces the Montreal Canadiens in a second-round series, which begins Wednesday at KeyBank Center. The winner will advance to the Eastern Conference Final, something the Sabres last did 19 year ago.

The Sabres struggled out of the gate this season, losing 12 of their first 17 games (5-8-4), and were 11-14-4 before turning things around. The club began a 10-game winning streak on Dec. 9 and never looked back as it finished atop the Atlantic Division with 109 points -- its highest total since earning 113 in 2006-07.

Buffalo split its first two first-round games with Boston before switching from Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to Alex Lyon in net, and the move proved to be the correct one. The Sabres won three of the next four contests to eliminate the Bruins, with Lyon allowing one goal in each victory and only two in an overtime loss in Game 5.

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Alex Tuch led Buffalo with four goals in the series, including a pair of game-winners, and was even with Tage Thompson for the team lead in points with seven. Peyton Krebs scored twice and added four assists, while defenseman Bowen Byram netted three tallies and set up two others.

The Canadiens outlasted the Tampa Bay Lightning in a first-round, best-of-seven series that went the distance and had each contest decided by one goal -- including four in overtime. Montreal lost Game 6 at home 1-0 in OT but posted a 2-1 victory on the road in Game 7 despite registering only nine shots on goal as Alex Newhook scored with 8:53 remaining in the third period to snap a tie.

Captain Nick Suzuki and defenseman Lane Hutson shared the team lead with six points against Tampa Bay. Juraj Slafkovsky topped the Canadiens with three goals -- all of which came on the power play in the series opener, including the winner in overtime.

The Sabres and Canadiens split their four regular-season meetings, with each team winning once at home and once on the road. Thompson recorded seven points, with five -- including his ninth career hat trick -- coming in Buffalo's 5-3 home triumph on Jan. 15. Cole Caufield scored four goals and set up two others for Montreal while Suzuki led the team with eight points.

Buffalo and Montreal are meeting in the postseason for the eighth time. The Canadiens won four of the previous seven matchups, but the Sabres took the most recent showdown as they swept Montreal in the 1998 Eastern Conference semifinals.

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The NHL betting odds at the major sportsbooks see the second-round series as being evenly matched, with futures betting odds listing both the Sabres and Canadiens at -110. Learn how to read betting odds here.

Pick: Canadiens to advance

Neither team had much recent playoff success before winning their first-round series. The Canadiens were knocked out by the Washington Capitals in the opening round last year after having failed to qualify for the previous three postseasons, while the Sabres hadn't made an appearance since 2011. 

The long-time rivals are comparable in many ways, as Buffalo finished only three points ahead of Montreal in the Atlantic Division and scored just four more goals than the Canadiens during the regular season. In the first round, both teams went 1-2 at home and recorded three victories on the road.

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Buffalo and Montreal also enter their second-round matchup with goaltenders who are relatively inexperienced in the playoffs. Lyon made just three starts and one relief appearance for the Florida Panthers in 2023, while Jakub Dobes is a rookie and making his postseason debut.

Both clubs have some dangerous offensive forwards and a high-scoring defenseman who set a career high in points in 2025-26. Hutson was fourth among all NHL blue-liners with 78 points and Rasmus Dahlin of the Sabres finished only four points behind him.

The sportsbooks aren't wrong as this series could go either way, and it certainly wouldn't be surprising to see it go the full seven games. But I have a bit more confidence in Dobes than in Lyon, and the way the Canadiens held Tampa Bay's high-powered offense to three goals or fewer in all seven contests and no more than two in any of the final three games has me leaning toward them.

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