The Minnesota Wild and the Buffalo Sabres meet in NHL action from the KeyBank Center on Friday night.
Wild Fall To Rangers
The Minnesota Wild come into this game looking to rebound after having their two-game win streak snapped with a loss to the New York Rangers last time out. Mats Zuccarello has a team-high 13 points including a team-high 10 assists while Joel Eriksson Ek also has 13 points with 7 goals and 6 assists. Kirill Kaprizov’s added 12 points of his own with 8 assists and Ryan Hartman’s added 11 points with a team-high 7 goals this season. Filip Gustavsson has posted a 2-3-1 record with a 4.89 GAA and an .871 save percentage while Marc-Andre Fleury is 3-3-1 with a 2.75 GAA and an .898 save percentage this season.
Minnesota Wild Team Facts
- The Wild have lost each of their last nine games as underdogs against Atlantic Division opponents.
- The Wild have covered the puck line in each of their last seven games as underdogs on the second leg of a back-to-back.
- The Wild have won the second period in each of their last three games against Atlantic Division opponents.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 1’ market has hit in seven of the Wild’s last eight games as underdogs.
Sabres Fall In OT
The Buffalo Sabres come into this game looking to rebound from a 3-2 OT loss to Carolina last time out. Casey Mittelstadt has a team-high 12 points including a team-high 9 assists while Tage Thompson and Jeff Skinner each have 11 points with a team-high 6 goals and 5 assists. Rasmus Dahlin also has 11 points with 8 assists of his own and Alex Tuch has 10 points with 4 goals and 6 assists. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has a 3-2-1 record with a 3.10 GAA and an .899 save percentage while Devon Levi is 2-3 with a 3.41 GAA and an .885 save percentage this season in goal for the Sabres.
Buffalo Sabres Team Facts
- The underdogs have won each of the last four games between the Wild and Sabres at KeyBank Center.
- The Sabres have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last 11 Friday games as home favorites.
- The Sabres have won the third period in each of their last four games as favorites after coming off overtime.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 3′ market has hit in each of the Sabres’ last nine night games.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Buffalo Sabres ranks T4th in the league in penalty kill percentage this season (88.00%).
- The Buffalo Sabres ranks 27th in the league in power play percentage this season (12.82%).
- The Minnesota Wild ranks 32nd in the league in penalty kill percentage this season (65.00%).
- The Minnesota Wild ranks 30th in the league for goals against per game this season (4.00).
Chris’ Pick
I’m rolling with the over here. Two teams where I don’t trust the goaltending to do its job right now, and despite some recent struggles from the Wild offensively, I still believe that Minnesota can do enough to help get this one over the total. Buffalo’s had their ups and downs as well, but at least with the downs, they’re giving up more than enough goals and sometimes contributing to help. Either way, I think we have 7+ goals coming here. Give me the over.
