The Buffalo Sabres look like a completely different unit compared to last year’s team that lost 45 contests in regulation, as the 9-6-2 SU Sabres will be looking to extend their home point streak to five games when they welcome the Eastern Conference-leading Tampa Bay Lightning to town. Sportsbooks opened the Sabres as +125 home underdogs with a total of 6.
- The Lightning are 13-3 SU in their last 16 games vs the Sabres.
- The Lightning are 6-1 SU in their last seven games on the road vs the Sabres.
- The total has gone OVER in five of the Sabres’ last six games at home (avg. combined score: 6.83).
Lightning vs Sabres Game Center
Lightning have had the Sabres’ number in recent years
The Sabres knocked off Montreal 6-5 in overtime on Thursday before rallying late to defeat the Vancouver Canucks 4-3 in a shootout on the weekend to improve their record to 3-0-1 SU in the past four home games. Buffalo and Tampa Bay split the four matchups in their season series a year ago, but the Lightning are 6-1-1 SU in their last eight meetings with the Sabres.
Buffalo hasn’t been getting the job done with the man advantage lately, going 0-for-9 in its last three games, but the Sabres have fared much better on the penalty kill by killing off all 11 opportunities in a four-game span. Captain Jack Eichel missed parts of Saturday’s game with a lower-body injury but returned for the third period, as the American has seven assists in his last four games to tie Jeff Skinner for the team lead in points (19).
The Lightning are coming off a 6-4 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday after giving up four unanswered goals in the final 20 minutes to end a four-game winning streak. One bright spot was the return of stalwart defenseman Victor Hedman, who scored in his first game back following a seven-game injury absence.
OVER bettors will be paying close attention to this one
Tampa Bay has historically fared well in Buffalo, as the Bolts have won six of their last seven against the Sabres at KeyBank Center. The Sabres are also 3-7 SU and on the puckline in their past 10 games against divisional opponents.
When it comes to the total, betting trends are indicating an OVER might be in store. The Sabres have eclipsed the closing total in five of their past six home games, with an average combined score of 6.9 goals. The Bolts have also gone OVER in eight of their last 11 on the road against teams in their division.
Hutton set to get the call for the Sabres
Carter Hutton (6-6-1, 2.78 goals-against average, .912 save percentage) is listed as the probable starting goaltender for the Sabres, while the Lightning had yet to announce a starter as of this writing. When it happens, we'll update the preview accordingly.
