The Florida Panthers and the Buffalo Sabres meet in NHL action from the Keybank Center on Thursday night. Who comes out on top in this Atlantic division clash? Let’s dive in and find out with our Panthers vs. Sabres Prediction.
Florida Panthers Team Preview
The Florida Panthers come into this one looking to build on a 5-2 win over Pittsburgh last time out. Sam Reinhart leads the Panthers in scoring with 64 points including a team-high 39 goals and 25 assists while Aleksander Barkov has 51 points with 12 goals and 39 assists. Carter Verhaeghe has 53 points with 26 goals and 27 assists while Matthew Tkachuk has 59 points with 41 assists of his own this season. Sergei Bobrovsky has posted a 26-10-2 mark with a 2.43 GAA and .914 save percentage in goal for Florida this season while Anthony Stolarz is 8-5-2 with a 2.11 GAA and a .917 save percentage this season.
Florida Panthers Team Facts
- The Panthers have won seven of their last eight games.
- The Panthers have covered the puck line in 15 of their last 18 games against Atlantic Division opponents.
- The Panthers have won the second period in each of their last four games at KeyBank Center.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 3′ market has hit in seven of the Panthers’ last eight games at KeyBank Center.
Buffalo Sabres Team Preview
The Buffalo Sabres come into this one looking to build on a 7-0 win over Los Angeles last time out. Casey Mittelstadt leads the Sabres in scoring with 43 points including a team-high 31 assists while Rasmus Dahlin has 41 points with 14 goals and 27 assists. Jeff Skinner has 34 points with 17 goals while JJ Peterka has 36 points with a team-high 19 goals and 17 assists. Alex Tuch also has 36 points with 15 goals and 21 assists this season. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has a 13-13-2 record with a 2.51 GAA and a .913 save percentage while Devon Levi is 9-7-2 with a 3.30 GAA and an .891 save percentage and Eric Comrie is 1-5 with a 4.01 GAA and an .863 save percentage this season in goal for the Sabres.
Buffalo Sabres Team Facts
- The Sabres have lost 12 of their last 13 night games at KeyBank Center following a win.
- The Sabres have covered the puck line in each of their last four night games at KeyBank Center.
- The Sabres have lost the first period in seven of their last eight games as home underdogs against Eastern Conference opponents.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 1′ market has hit in 10 of the Sabres’ last 11 games as underdogs against Atlantic Division opponents.
Panthers vs. Sabres Prediction
I’m on the Panthers here. Buffalo’s win over Los Angeles was mighty impressive, but the Sabres are not consistent enough to deliver that kind of performance on a night to night basis. Florida is however, and even on a back-to-back, this team is far too talented to let an opportunity to beat on Buffalo again pass them by. Florida’s owned this matchup over the years and I don’t see that changing in this matchup. Give me Florida here.