The New York Rangers and Buffalo Sabres meet Thursday in NHL action at the KeyBank Center. Let’s preview this game and give out a pick and prediction.

New York Rangers Betting Preview

The Rangers are coming off a 47-win season and now begin the Peter Laviolette era. Laviolette comes over from the Capitals, and he’s 48 wins away from becoming the seventh coach to win 800 games. The Rangers hope he’s the guy who can put them over the top after disappointment last season. On paper there are no excuses for the Rangers as they have a Norris Trophy winner in Adam Fox and a Vezina Trophy winner in Igor Shesterkin. Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin are also coming off 90-point seasons. The Rangers have the talent to win the Stanley Cup. What’s intriguing is the addition of Jonathan Quick, a two-time cup winner and one-time all star. Quick isn’t as dominant as he used to be as he approaches 38 years old, but it’s not often you get this accomplished of a goalie as a backup. Again, the Rangers have the ability to make a title run and that should be the goal. 

New York Rangers Team Facts

• The Rangers have lost five of their last six games as favorites.
• The underdogs have covered the puck line in each of the Rangers’ last eight games at KeyBank Center.
• The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 2′ market has hit in 10 of the Rangers’ last 11 games against Atlantic Division opponents.
• The favorites have won the second period in nine of the Rangers’ last 11 games at KeyBank Center.

Buffalo Sabres Betting Preview

The Sabres won 42 games last year and are still looking for their first playoff trip since the 2010-11 season. The Sabres enter the third full year under coach Don Granato. The Sabres are pretty much the team they were last season, as they only lost Craig Anderson while adding Erik Johnson and Connor Clifton. This kind of has to be the year for the Sabres to end their playoff drought. The young talent is there in guys like Dylan Cozens, Mattias Samuelsson, Rasmus Dahlin and Tage Thompson, while an older guy like Jeff Skinner is coming off possibly his best season yet. The Sabres have improved their win total in each of the last 3 years, and their 91 points last year were their most since their last playoff berth. If not this year to finally get back in the big dance, when? 

Buffalo Sabres Team Facts

• The Sabres have won six of their last seven games as underdogs against Metropolitan Division opponents.
• The underdogs have covered the puck line in each of the last eight games between the Rangers and Sabres at KeyBank Center.
• The Sabres have lost the third period in each of their last six Thursday games as underdogs.
• The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 2′ market has hit in each of the Sabres’ last seven night games at KeyBank Center.

Randy’s Pick

The Rangers are the better team on paper and should be favored, especially knowing they’ve won 7 of the last 10 meetings against the Sabres. However, six of the last 10 meetings needed overtime or a shootout to be decided and as I previously mentioned, if this isn’t the time for the Sabres to make a postseason berth, when is? This feels like an early statement game for the Sabres at home, as it’s a possible tone setter for the rest of the way. Give me the plus money with the home team.