The Pittsburgh Penguins and the Buffalo Sabres meet in NHL action from the KeyBank Center on Friday. Two struggling teams in dire need of a win, who comes out on top? Let’s dive in and find out. Here is our Penguins vs Sabres Prediction.

Penguins Shut Out By Rangers

The Pittsburgh Penguins will be looking to rebound after a 1-0 loss at the hands of the rival New York Rangers for their 3rd loss in their last 4 games. Sidney Crosby leads the Penguins in scoring with 22 points including a team-high 12 goals along with 10 assists while Jake Guentzel has 21 points along with a team-high 15 assists. Evgeni Malkin has 18 points with 9 goals and 9 assists while Erik Karlsson’s added 17 points with 12 assists and Bryan Rust has 16 points with 9 goals this season. Tristan Jarry has gone 6-8 with a 2.47 GAA and a .916 save percentage while Alex Nedeljkovic has a 2-1 record with a 2.00 GAA and a .944 save percentage this season.

Pittsburgh Penguins Team Facts

The underdogs have won three of the Penguins’ last four games.
The underdogs have covered the puck line in each of the Penguins’ last five games at KeyBank Center.
The Penguins have won the first period in five of their last six games following a loss.
The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 3′ market has hit in each of the Penguins’ last eight games against Atlantic Division opponents.

Pittsburgh Penguins Player Prop Facts

Jake Guentzel has scored a goal in five of his last six appearances in night games at KeyBank Center.
Evgeni Malkin has recorded at least one point in each of his last 10 appearances at KeyBank Center.
Evgeni Malkin has recorded at least one assist in each of his last 10 appearances at KeyBank Center.
Marcus Pettersson ranks 1st in the Metropolitan Division for Plus/Minus (+13) this season.

Sabres Fall Apart Against Capitals

The Buffalo Sabres could definitely use a win as well after a 4-3 OT loss at the hands of the Washington Capitals in their last game. Rasmus Dahlin leads the Sabres in scoring with 16 points including a team-high 12 assists while JJ Peterka and Casey Mittelstadt each have 15 points with Peterka logging a team-high 8 goals while Mittelstadt has 12 assists of his own. Jeff Skinner has 14 points with 8 goals of his own as well on the year. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has a 4-3-1 record with a 2.80 GAA and an .911 save percentage while Devon Levi is 3-4-1 with a 3.66 GAA and an .879 save percentage this season in goal for the Sabres.

Buffalo Sabres Team Facts

The Sabres have won three of their last four games as home underdogs against Metropolitan Division opponents.
The home team has covered the puck line in each of the last five games between the Penguins and Sabres.
The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 1′ market has hit in seven of the Sabres’ last eight night games at KeyBank Center.
The Sabres have lost the second period in four of their last five games.

Buffalo Sabres Player Prop Facts

John-Jason Peterka has scored a goal in three of the Sabres’ last four games as home underdogs.
John-Jason Peterka has recorded at least one point in each of the Sabres’ last four games.
Owen Power has recorded an assist in each of the Sabres’ last four games as home underdogs against Eastern Conference opponents.
Zemgus Girgensons has recorded two blocks against the Penguins this season – equal-most against any opponent.

Matchup/League Facts

The Buffalo Sabres ranks 27th in the league in power play percentage this season (12.73%).
The Buffalo Sabres ranks T6th in the league in penalty kill percentage this season (85.71%).
The Pittsburgh Penguins ranks 6th in the league for goals against per game this season (2.61).
The Pittsburgh Penguins ranks T6th in the league in penalty kill percentage this season (85.71%).

Chris’ Pick

I’m backing the Penguins here. I don’t love it, but it’s pretty much the lesser of two evils here. The Penguins right now for me have the better goaltending and the healthier core, and this Sabres team just looks lost and dishevelled without Tage Thompson up front. The Penguins have also historically owned the Sabres, so I’ll roll with Pittsburgh in this one.