NHL Hockey Betting: Boston Bruins at Buffalo Sabres
The Boston Bruins are not in particularly good form right now and they’ll try to turn their fortunes around tonight as they head North to Buffalo to take on the plucky young Sabres. Boston is hanging on to third place in the Atlantic Division with 40 points putting them three back of second place Ottawa and 7 back of division leading Montreal. Their form is the problem–they’re 3-5-2 in their last 10 games and now have to worry about the Tampa Bay Lightning just one point behind and the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers three points back.
Buffalo is tied for 7th place with Detroit but their 34 points still has them ‘in the mix’ for a playoff spot. The Sabres are 4-4-3 in their last 10 games and 7-7-3 on home ice this season. Buffalo is just 3 points back of Toronto and Florida and just 5 points back of Tampa Bay. Not to mention that they’re just six points back of the Bruins.
Robin Lehner gets the start in net tonight for Buffalo. Lehner is 8-10-5 on the season with a 2.47 goals against average and a 0.922 save percentage. He’ll be opposed by workhorse Tuukka Rask who is keeping the Bruins in contention despite their generally poor play. Rask is 17-7-3 with a 1.96 goals against average and a 0.927 save percentage with 4 shutouts. Despite Rask’s excellent form this season he hasn’t been able to keep Boston from losing 8 of their last 11 games. Buffalo, meanwhile, has only 1 win in their last five games.
Boston hasn’t had much trouble with Buffalo in recent years but to be fair neither has any other team. The Bruins have won 8 of their last 10 head to head including five straight in Buffalo. They’ve already beaten the Sabres twice this year winning 2-1 at Buffalo on 12/3/16 and 4-0 at home on 11/7/16. Their form has nosedived since then, however, and although Buffalo has a slew of injuries they remain generally upbeat and enthusiastic. The return of sharpshooter Jack Eichel has been huge and he’s a matchup nightmare for any opponent. Boston is the better team but with their current form it’s tough to lay such a big price with them on the road. Much rather take the price with the Sabres.
BET BUFFALO SABRES +125 OVER BOSTON BRUINS
