The Minnesota Wild and the Buffalo Sabres meet Saturday in NHL action from the KeyBank Center. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Minnesota Wild vs. Buffalo Sabres prediction.
Minnesota Wild Recap
The Minnesota Wild come into this game looking to bounce back from a 6-2 loss at the hands of Winnipeg last time out to sit at 26-13-9 this season. After this game, Minnesota will head on the road for a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Wild Lose 3 In A Row
Kirill Kaprizov leads the Wild in scoring with 52 points including 25 goals and a team-high 27 assists while Matt Boldy has 51 points including a team-high 27 goals and 24 assists. Marcus Johansson has 34 points with 13 goals and 21 assists. Joel Eriksson Ek has 32 points with 11 goals and 21 assists while Brock Faber has 28 points with 10 goals and 18 assists. Filip Gustavsson’s gone 14-9-5 with a 2.50 GAA and a .912 save percentage while Jesper Wallstedt is 12-4-4 with a 2.64 GAA and a .916 save percentage in goal for Minnesota this season.
Why the Minnesota Wild will win
- The Wild have won five of their last six games as road underdogs.
- The Sabres have lost two of their last three games as home favorites following a home win.
- The Wild have covered the puck line in each of their last nine games as underdogs following a home loss.
- The Sabres have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last three games as home favorites following a home win.
Minnesota Wild Player Prop Facts
- Kirill Kaprizov has scored the first goal in three of his last four road appearances against Atlantic Division opponents.
- Kirill Kaprizov has scored at least one goal in each of the Wild’s last four road games against the Sabres.
- Quinn Hughes has recorded at least one assist in each of his last seven road appearances against Atlantic Division opponents.
- Quinn Hughes ranks 1st in the league for average time on ice (27:34) this season.
Buffalo Sabres Recap
The Buffalo Sabres come into this game looking to add on to their 5-3 win over Montreal last time out to sit at 26-16-4 this season. After this game, Buffalo will head on the road for a game against Carolina.
Sabres Win 15 Of Last 17
Tage Thompson leads the Sabres in scoring with 49 points coming on a team-high 25 goals and 24 assists while Alex Tuch has 39 points with 16 goals and 23 assists and Rasmus Dahlin has 33 points with a team-high 27 assists. Josh Doan has 34 points with 15 goals and 19 assists and Ryan McLeod has 29 points with 10 goals and 19 assists. Bowen Byram has 25 points with 10 goals and 15 assists while Jack Quinn’s added 25 points with 10 goals and 15 assists this season. Alex Lyon has gone 10-6-3 with a 2.82 GAA and a .906 save percentage in goal for Buffalo while Colten Ellis is 6-4 with a 3.10 GAA and an .898 save percentage so far this season. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has gone 10-6-1 with a 2.59 GAA and a .904 save percentage up to this point in the year.
Why the Buffalo Sabres will win
- The Sabres have won each of their last six games against opponents on a losing streak.
- The Wild have lost five of their last six games.
- The Wild have failed to cover the puck line in nine of their last 10 road games against opponents on a winning streak.
- The Sabres have covered the puck line in each of their last five games against opponents on a losing streak.
Buffalo Sabres Player Prop Facts
- Jack Quinn has recorded an assist in seven of his last eight appearances with the Sabres as home favorites against Central Division opponents.
- Joshua Norris has scored a goal in three of his four previous appearances against the Wild.
- Ryan McLeod has recorded two hits against the Wild this season – equal-most against any opponent.
Total Goals Facts
- Each of the Sabres’ last six games have gone OVER the total goals line.
- Each of the Wild’s last six day games following a loss have gone UNDER the total goals line.
Minnesota Wild vs. Buffalo Sabres Prediction
I’m on the Sabres here. I’m simply riding the hot hand in this game as the Sabres are rolling and if you’ve been on the Sabres train for a while like I have to this point, you’ve made so much that if you miss a stop to get off of the money train and ride it one stop too long, so be it. The Sabres are just flat out rolling at this point and are printing you money as long as you’ve been riding with them and I think it continues here. Give me Buffalo.