The Tampa Bay Lightning and the Buffalo Sabres meet Sunday 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 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Buffalo Sabres prediction.
Tampa Bay Lightning Recap
The Tampa Bay Lightning come into this game looking to add on to their 5-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs last time out to sit at 39-18-4 this season.
Lightning Looking To String Consistent Performances Together
Nikita Kucherov leads the Lightning in scoring with 100 points including 32 goals and 68 assists while Brandon Hagel has 57 points with 29 goals and 28 assists and Jake Guentzel has 67 points with 27 goals and 40 assists. Anthony Cirelli has 37 points with 15 goals and 22 assists. Darren Raddysh has also added 55 points with 17 goals and 38 assists as well on the year. Andrei Vasilevskiy has gone 29-10-3 with a 2.28 GAA and a .914 save percentage while Jonas Johansson is 10-8-1 with a 2.98 GAA and an .890 save percentage this season.
Why the Tampa Bay Lightning will win
- The Lightning have won each of their last eight games as road favorites against opponents who are on the second leg of a back-to-back.
- The Sabres have lost nine of their last 10 games on the second leg of a back-to-back against the Lightning.
- The road team has covered the puck line in each of the Sabres’ last 10 games.
- The Sabres have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last four home games.
Tampa Bay Lightning Player Prop Facts
- Brayden Point has scored the first goal in three of the Lightning’s last four games as road favorites against the Sabres.
- Nikita Kucherov has scored at least one goal in each of the Lightning’s last eight Sunday night games.
- Victor Hedman has recorded an assist in each of his last six appearances after playing less than 20 minutes the previous day.
- Nikita Kucherov ranks 1st in the league for multi-assist games (20) this season.
Buffalo Sabres Recap
The Buffalo Sabres come into this game looking to build on their 3-2 win over Nashville last time out to sit at 38-19-6 this season.
Sabres Win 6 Straight
Tage Thompson leads the Sabres in scoring with 66 points coming on a team-high 34 goals and 32 assists while Alex Tuch has 54 points with 25 goals and 29 assists and Rasmus Dahlin has 54 points with a team-high 42 assists. Josh Doan has 42 points with 19 goals and 23 assists and Ryan McLeod has 44 points with 12 goals and 32 assists. Bowen Byram has 32 points with 10 goals and 22 assists while Jack Quinn’s added 39 points with 12 goals and 27 assists this season. Alex Lyon has gone 17-8-3 with a 2.64 GAA and a .915 save percentage in goal for Buffalo while Colten Ellis is 7-4-1 with a 3.11 GAA and an .896 save percentage so far this season. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has gone 14-7-2 with a 2.55 GAA and a .910 save percentage up to this point in the year.
Why the Buffalo Sabres will win
- The Sabres have won eight of their last nine games as underdogs against Atlantic Division opponents.
- The Lightning have lost three of their last four games as favorites.
- The Sabres have covered the puck line in each of their last 14 games as underdogs.
- The Lightning have failed to cover the puck line in six of their last seven games as favorites on the second leg of a back-to-back.
Buffalo Sabres Player Prop Facts
- Tage Thompson has scored the last goal in each of the Sabres’ last three games as home underdogs.
- Tage Thompson has scored at least one goal in six of the Sabres’ last seven home games against opponents who are playing on the second leg of a back-to-back.
- Rasmus Dahlin has recorded at least one assist in each of the Sabres’ last seven home games.
- Joshua Norris has scored two goals against the Lightning this season – equal-most against any opponent.
Total Goals Facts
- Nine of the Lightning’s last 10 games against Atlantic Division opponents have gone OVER the total goals line.
- Seven of the Sabres’ last eight home games against the Lightning following a win have gone UNDER the total goals line.
- Four of the last five games between teams from the same division have gone OVER the total goals line.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Buffalo Sabres Prediction
I’m on the Sabres here. I know the Lightning are coming off of the solid win over Toronto, but the thing here is that the Sabres are playing some solid hockey of their own right now and I think Tampa Bay is getting some name brand respect here, and the Sabres are getting line value as a result. I think we see Jonas Johansson here for Tampa and that’s a big downgrade from Andrei Vasilevskiy, and I think Buffalo can take advantage. Give me Buffalo.