Losers of six of their last seven, the Buffalo Sabres continue to fall further behind in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Things won’t get any easier tonight when they welcome the Pittsburgh Penguins to KeyBank Center. Sportsbooks opened the Sabres as +115 home underdogs with a total of 6.5.
Penguins vs Sabres Game Center
Standout Stats
- In the first meeting of the season between the clubs on November 19, Buffalo topped Pittsburgh 5-4 in overtime thanks to a Jack Eichel goal in the extra frame. The win was only Buffalo’s second triumph in its past 11 encounters with the Penguins.
- Eichel scored in the Sabres’ 3-2 setback to Philadelphia in their last time out to boost his point streak to six games (four goals, four assists) heading into tonight’s game. On the season, the American has 69 points in 60 games.
- The Penguins began their three-game road trip with a 5-2 win over Columbus on Tuesday, when superstar Sidney Crosby collected a goal and an assist to lift his point total to 16 (four goals, 12 assists) in his past nine contests.
- Pittsburgh has been a sizzling OVER bet of late, as five of the Penguins’ last six games have gone OVER the total with an average combined score of 7.5 goals. On the flip side, the Sabres have gone OVER in eight of their previous 11 home games with an average combined score of seven goals.
- The Penguins’ past dominance over the Sabres has been especially prevalent in New York, evidenced by Pittsburgh winning eight of its last nine trips to KeyBank Center. The Penguins are also 8-3 SU in their past 11 road games against teams with losing records.
My best bet for Penguins-Sabres
Penguins moneyline
Bettors are clearly expecting the Penguins to pull out a win tonight as 77 percent of consensus moneyline bets were on Pittsburgh as of this writing, and while I don’t love going with the public, I’m taking the Pens to win outright tonight at -135. Pittsburgh is clearly the better team and has had tremendous success on the road against the Sabres over the years and I expect that trend to continue tonight.
The total has gone OVER in five of the Penguins’ last six games (avg. combined score: 7.5).away The Penguins are 8-1 SU in their last nine games on the road vs the Sabres. The total has gone OVER in eight of the Sabres’ last 11 games at home (avg. combined score: 7.09).home
