Buffalo Sabres vs Tampa Bay Lightning prediction 1-20-24 Picks

The Tampa Bay Lightning will play the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. Tampa Bay has won four games in a row, while Buffalo has won three of their last four. Let’s take a look at the betting matchup and the Lightning vs Sabres prediction.

Lightning Preview

The Tampa Bay Lightning are 23-17-5 this year after they defeated Minnesota by a score of 7-3 in their last game. Tampa Bay was tied at one after the first period and they led 4-3 heading into the third, where they added three goals to pull away for the win. The Lightning out shot Minnesota by a total of 38-33 and went 3-3 on the power play in the game. Tampa Bay has also defeated Anaheim, New Jersey, and Los Angeles during this winning streak. The Lightning are scoring 3.38 goals per game and they are allowing 3.38 goals against per game, while going 31% on the power play and 80.6% on the penalty kill. Nikita Kucherov has led Tampa Bay with 28 goals, 47 assists, and 192 shots on goal. The projected starting goalie for Tampa Bay is Andrei Vasilevskiy, who is 13-9-0 this season with a 2.86 goals against average and a .899 save percentage. 

Sabres Preview

The Buffalo Sabres are 20-21-4 this season after they defeated Chicago by a score of 3-0 in their last game. Buffalo scored once in the second and twice in the third for the shutout win. The Sabres out shot Chicago by a total of 31-19 and went 1-6 on the power play in the game. Buffalo defeated San Jose by a score of 3-0 in the game prior to Chicago, but lost to Vancouver by a score of 1-0 in the game before that. The Sabres are scoring 2.96 goals per game and they are allowing 3.16 goals against per game, while going 14.5% on the power play and 79.7% on the penalty kill. Casey Mittelstadt has led Buffalo with 12 goals, 27 assists, and 73 shots on goal. The projected starting goalie for Buffalo is Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who is 11-9-2 this season with a 2.64 goals against average and a .909 save percentage. 

Buffalo Sabres Team Facts

• The Sabres have lost seven of their last eight games at KeyBank Center following a win.
• The underdogs have covered the puck line in each of the last four games between the Lightning and Sabres.
• The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 2′ market has hit in each of the Sabres’ last eight games as underdogs against Atlantic Division opponents.
• The Sabres have won the third period in each of their last five games as home underdogs against Eastern Conference opponents.

Tampa Bay Lightning Team Facts

• The home team has won seven of the Lightning’s last eight games.
• The Lightning have failed to cover the puck line in eight of their last 10 games as favorites against Atlantic Division opponents.
• The Lightning have won the third period in six of their last seven day games following a win.
• The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 2’ market has hit in each of the Lightning’s last nine games.

Buffalo Sabres Player Prop Facts

• Tage Thompson has scored at least one goal in five of his last six appearances against Atlantic Division opponents.
• Tage Thompson has recorded at least one point in each of his last six home appearances against Eastern Conference opponents.
• Alex Tuch has recorded at least one assist in each of his last six Saturday day appearances against Eastern Conference opponents.
• Rasmus Dahlin ranks 2nd in the Atlantic Division for average time on ice (24:53) this season.

Tampa Bay Lightning Player Prop Facts

• Brayden Point has scored at least one goal in each of the Lightning’s last four games as favorites against the Sabres.
• Victor Hedman has recorded at least one point in seven of the Lightning’s last eight games against Atlantic Division opponents.
• Steven Stamkos has recorded at least one assist in each of his last six appearances against the Sabres after playing less than 20 minutes in the Lightning’s last game.
• Nikita Kucherov ranks T1st in the league for multi-point games (23) this season.

Matchup/League Facts

• The Buffalo Sabres rank 29th in the league for Period 1 goals scored per game this season (0.71).
• The Buffalo Sabres rank T28th in the league in short handed goals allowed this season (7).
• The Tampa Bay Lightning rank 31st in the league in short handed goals this season (1).
• The Tampa Bay Lightning are one of only four teams to win 3+ games when trailing after Period 2 this season.

Lightning vs Sabres Betting Prediction

Tampa Bay comes into this game on a four game winning streak and they are playing very well right now, but they are only 8-12-2 on the road this season. The Lightning have been great at home this year, but that success has not gone on the road. Buffalo has won three of their last four games and they have only allowed a total of one goal in their last three games. The Lightning have one of the best power plays in the NHL and they are the better team in this matchup, so I am going to ignore the road record and take Tampa Bay to win here.