Buffalo Sabres vs Tampa Bay Lightning Preview
Planning on watching today’s Lightning and Sabres game? Catch the action at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY, as the Sabres hosts this showdown at 12:30 ET on ESPN+.
In this division matchup, the Lightning are the betting favorite against Sabres. The over/under for the game is 6.5 goals. Check out BetCoco for Buffalo Sabres – Tampa Bay Lightning odds
Buffalo Sabres vs Tampa Bay Lightning Head-to-Head and Key Stats
In the last five head to head matchups, the Sabres have had the upper-hand, going 3-2. Looking back over the previous three times that the Lightning and Sabres have faced off, they have combined to average 7 goals per game and have an over/under record of 2-1.
- Although Tampa Bay has a straight up record of 2-3 in their last five road games, they have not held up as well vs the puck line going 1-4. The team averaged 2 goals per game in these games.
- Through their last ten home games, Buffalo has an puck line record of just 6-4. However, their overall record was 6-4 while averaging 3 goals per game.
- Spanning across their last five games as the betting underdog, the Sabres have gone 3-2 vs the spread. Their overall record in these games was 1-4.
- In their last ten games as the betting favorite, the Lightning have a straight up record of 8-2 and an puck line mark of 4-6.
Buffalo Sabres vs Tampa Bay Lightning Prediction
As the season has progressed, the Lightning have found themselves in a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, currently sitting in 7th place. In the Atlantic Division, they are in 4th place with a record of 23-17-5.
On the road, Tampa Bay has struggled this season, winning just 8 of their 22 games away from home. However, they have won their last four games overall and have won five straight games as the favorite.
On offense, the Lightning are averaging 3.4 goals per game which is 5th in the NHL. In terms of shots on goal per game, they are 15th in the league. The Lightning went 15-11 in games where they had more shots than their opponents. However, in games with fewer shots on goal, their record was 8-5.
Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy comes into the game having made 22 starts this season. So far, his record is 13-9 and he has a save percentage of 0.689%.
At home this season, the Sabres have gone 11-11-1 and are 7th in the Atlantic Division and 14th in the Eastern Conference. Overall, Buffalo is 20-21-4 and has 44 points. Over their last ten games, the Sabres have gone 6-4, and they have won two straight games. As the underdog, Buffalo has gone 10-15-3 this season.
In the Eastern Conference, the Sabres are 13-17, and they have gone 10-6-1 when favored this season. In their last three games, Buffalo has gone 2-1, and over their last five games, they have gone 3-2. At home, the Sabres have won two straight games, and they have a three-game winning streak when favored.
On offense, the Sabres are averaging 3 goals per game which is 19th in the NHL. In terms of shots on goal per game, they are 11th in the league. Buffalo’s offense is currently ranked 27th in power play goals. When it comes to shorthanded goals, they are 20th in the league.
Heading into this matchup vs. Tampa Bay, goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has started 20 games in this season. His current record is 11-9, and his save percentage stands at 0.699%.
Despite being 1.5 goal underdogs, we predict the Sabres to come out on top with a final score of 4-3.
Buffalo Sabres vs Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Tips
- We like the Sabres on the moneyline (+102)
- The Sabres are also our pick on the spread at +1.5
- Our NHL model projects 7 goals, and we suggest taking the under
Buffalo Sabres Injury Report
- Jeff Skinner – Upper Body – Out
- Erik Johnson – Upper Body – Questionable
- Henri Jokiharju – Undisclosed – Questionable
- Mattias Samuelsson – Upper Body – Questionable
- Dylan Cozens – Upper Body – Questionable
Tampa Bay Lightning Injury Report
- Haydn Fleury – Hand – Out
- Brent Seabrook – Shoulder/Back/Hip – Out
- Erik Cernak – Upper Body – Questionable
- Mikhail Sergachev – Lower Body – Out
- Logan Brown – Undisclosed – Out
- Tanner Jeannot – Upper Body – Out
