Linus Ullmark #35 of the Buffalo Sabres defends the net during an NHL game against the Ottawa Senators on November 3, 2018 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York

Ullmark Gives Sabres the Edge

Swedish goaltender Linus Ullmark has been outstanding this season, most recently in the overtime loss to Toronto on Tuesday. He is undefeated in regulation at 5-0-3 and will be in net as the disappointing Philadelphia Flyers visit Buffalo this afternoon. The Sabres are a slight -115 favorite with Philly at -105.

SHARK BITES
  • Buffalo is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games at home.
  • Philadelphia has the No. 28 scoring defense in the league at 3.54 goals per game.
  • Buffalo is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Philadelphia.

Flyers vs Sabres Game Center

Inconsistency is Haunting the Flyers

The Flyers are 7-2 SU in their last nine games, including a 5-2 loss at the hands of the Sabres on November 21. As usual in Philadephia, the trouble starts in the blue paint where they’ve already used five goaltenders this season.

The latest “solution” to the goaltending problem has been Anthony Stolarz, the Flyers second-round pick in 2012 who has played the majority of his career in the AHL with Lehigh Valley. As a group, Stolarz, Brian Elliott, Calvin Pickard, Michal Neuvirth and Alex Lyon have compiled a 3.54 GAA and an .886 save percentage.

Offensively, the Flyers are middle of the pack while scoring an average of three goals per game. They’re taking 31.4 shots and allowing just 29.7 shots against. Only six teams are allowing fewer shots against than Philly, which makes the goaltending struggles all the more glaring.

Sabres Youth Is Serving Them Well

The Sabres have lost four consecutive games after running off a 12 game winning streak previous to that. That’s going to happen when you have a young, talented group and that’s exactly what the Sabres are.

Jack Eichel, in just his third season in the league, leads the team with 34 points in 29 games while Rasmus Ristolainen, Rasmus Dahlin and Casey Middlestat are all in the top 10 in terms of Sabres scoring.

A resurgent Jeff Skinner already has 20 goals and is among the league leaders in that category. A sneaky add-on from the Hurricanes where he had floundered for a couple of seasons, Skinner is one of the top acquisitions for any team in the NHL this season.

My Pick for this game

I’m taking the Sabres on the moneyline. I think the Flyers are the perfect tonic for the skid Buffalo has been on. They’ve had three good days of practice at home this week to iron out the kinks and Philly is not even close to the caliber of teams they lost to (Toronto, Nashville, Florida, and Tampa – all one-goal games) during that stretch.

Buffalo is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games at home.home Philadelphia has the No. 28 scoring defense in the league at 3.54 goals per game.away Buffalo is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Philadelphia.home
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