| 40-24-9 | March 29, 2014, 07:00 PM | First Niagara Center | 20-45-8 |
Hockey bettors look for value at First Niagara Center on Saturday as host Buffalo battles the Tampa Bay Lightning in hockey odds action.
This season the Sabres are 20-45-8 overall while the Lightning are 40-24-9. As for the totals, Buffalo is 25-37-11 on the OU, and Tampa Bay is 37-33-3.View Tampa Bay Lightning vs Buffalo Sabres Odds and Stats.
Bettors looking to side with the Sabres in this one found them earlier as 190 underdogs on the NHL money line at Sportsbook. Betting the over under instead? It was hovering near 5.5 at its open earlier today at Sportsbook and may have moved.
The NHL Power Rankings show a disparity between these teams, with the Sabres rated this week at No. 30 and the Lightning sitting at No. 19.
Tampa Bay won its last outing, a 3-2 result against the Islanders on March 27. Bettors who backed the Lightning at -225 on the moneyline won on the day, and the total score (5) sent UNDER bettors to the payout window.
Last time out for Buffalo, they were a 6-1 loser as they battled the Predators on the road. Moneyline bettors who got the Predators at -205 were rewarded, while the 7 combined goals moved the game OVER for totals bettors.
How They Match Up:
Offensively, the game matches up Buffalo's No. 30-ranked offense (1.9 goals per game) against a Lightning defense that ranks No. 12 at 2.67 goals per game allowed. The Sabres Sportsbook has clicked at a 13.97% rate while the Lightning have a 80.25% rate on the penalty kill.
A few Lightning at Sabres trends to consider:
Tampa Bay is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Tampa Bay's last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Tampa Bay's last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Tampa Bay's last 5 games when playing Buffalo
Buffalo is 1-10 SU in its last 11 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Buffalo's last 7 games
Buffalo is 3-11 SU in its last 14 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Buffalo's last 5 games when playing Tampa Bay
Next up:
Tampa Bay at Detroit, Sunday, March 30th
Buffalo home to New Jersey, Tuesday, April 1st
