Fact checked at 7:16 AM ET, Nov 12, 2026Odds as of 6:21 AM ET, Nov 12, 2026
Buffalo (8-7-3) is in Chicago (4-13-1) for an 8:00 PM ET start at the United Center, one night after losing 8-3 at home to Tampa Bay. The Sabres are still road favorites, because the Blackhawks have lost six in a row and lost 9-2 at Carolina in their last game. The total is 6.5. The bets on it are 50-50, while 65% of the money has gone to the Under.
That money has Chicago's offense on its side. The Blackhawks score 2.17 goals a game, the fewest in the league. Our two picks don't need a high-scoring game, though. Each needs one goal from a top line, and neither team has been getting saves. Chicago allows 4.22 goals a game, more than every team but Vancouver, and 30.7 shots, the most in the league. Buffalo allows 3.56 goals, which ranks 27th, and its two goalies gave up eight on 22 shots last night. Spencer Knight (.881 save percentage) is expected to start for Chicago, and he was pulled after allowing six goals on 17 shots in Carolina. Colten Ellis (.873) is projected for Buffalo after Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (.867) started last night and was pulled in the third period. Neither starter is confirmed, and none of the three is above .881.
Sabres vs. Blackhawks Predictions
Pick #1Zach Benson Over 0.5 Assists+115
Benson leads the Sabres with 13 assists and has at least one in 10 of 18 games. That's 55.6%. At +115 the market says 46.5%. He plays 20:10 a night at left wing on the top line with Noah Ostlund and Jack Quinn, who has nine goals, and he's on the first power-play unit with Tage Thompson, who has 11. Benson, Ostlund and Quinn were a line last night.
Chicago is the reason to back him tonight. No team allows more shots, and only Vancouver allows more goals. The Sabres have also scored more away from home: they're 4-1-3 on the road with 29 goals in eight games, against 24 goals in 10 home games. Benson has an assist in seven of his eight road games and in three of 10 at home.
He was held without a point in his last two games, both at home, after six assists in the four before that. This is Buffalo's second game in two nights. Ostlund and Quinn were each minus-4 against Tampa Bay, so Lindy Ruff could change his lines, and if Benson comes off the top line or the first power-play unit, the reason to bet this goes with him. Last season he averaged under 16 minutes and had an assist in 24 of 65 games, so this rests on 18 games in a bigger role.
Pick #2Roman Kantserov Over 0.5 Points−115
With Connor Bedard in the lineup, Kantserov has a point in nine of 12 games. Bedard missed the first six games of the season, and Kantserov had a point in one of them. Bedard has 14 points in the 12 he has played. Kantserov, a 22-year-old rookie, plays left wing on Bedard's line and is on an eight-game point streak (six goals, two assists), with a goal in each of the last four, including one in Carolina. His nine goals lead the Blackhawks. At the last practice the line was Kantserov, Bedard and Tyler Bertuzzi, and Kantserov is on the first power-play unit.
The price doesn't leave much room. A -115 price is the equivalent of 53.5%, and Kantserov's full-season record is 10 of 18, or 55.6%. Eighteen games is also his whole NHL career. So the case is the 12 games with Bedard, plus the opponent. Buffalo is on the second night of a back-to-back. Tampa Bay beat both Sabres goalies last night, and Buffalo's penalty kill is at 69.8%, 26th in the league.
The streak has some luck in it. Kantserov has nine goals on 31 shots, a 29% rate that won't hold, and with only two assists he mostly has to score himself. Chicago has been held to one goal or none in six of its 18 games, and its power play is last in the league at 9.8%. Patrick Kane has missed three games with an upper-body injury and is day to day. If he returns and Kantserov loses his spot beside Bedard, this pick loses its case.
21+ (18+ where permitted). Odds subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
