The Tampa Bay Lightning and Buffalo Sabres meet Tuesday in NHL action at KeyBank Center. Let’s preview this game and give out a pick and prediction.
Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Preview
The Tampa Bay Lightning need a win here to rebound from back-to-back losses. The Lightning will play their third straight road game. The Tampa Bay Lightning are averaging 3.67 goals per game and are scoring on 33.3 percent of their power play opportunities. Steven Stamkos leads Tampa Bay with 2 goals, Victor Hedman has 4 assists and Nikita Kucherov has 11 shots on goal. Defensively, the Tampa Bay Lightning are allowing 4.67 goals per game and are killing 85.7 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Jonas Johansson has given up 8 goals on 72 shots faced, while Matt Tomkins has allowed 4 goals on 37 shots.
Tampa Bay Lightning Team Facts
- The Lightning have lost seven of their last eight games following a road loss.
- The Lightning have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last four games as underdogs against opponents on a losing streak.
- The home team has won the third period in each of the Lightning’s last four games.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 3’ market has hit in 17 of the Lightning’s last 18 games against opponents on a losing streak.
Buffalo Sabres Betting Preview
The Buffalo Sabres need a win here to rebound from a rough 0-2-0 start to the season. The Buffalo Sabres haven’t started 0-3 since the 2017-18 season. The Buffalo Sabres are averaging 1.5 goals per game and are scoring on 0 percent of their power play opportunities. JJ Peterka leads Buffalo with 1 goal, Zach Benson has 2 assists and Tage Thompson has 7 shots on goal. Defensively, the Buffalo Sabres are allowing 4 goals per game and are killing 85.7 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Devon Levi has given up 7 goals on 59 shots faced.
Buffalo Sabres Team Facts
- The Sabres have lost each of their last five Tuesday games as home favorites.
- The Sabres have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last 10 Tuesday games as home favorites.
- The Sabres have lost the second period in each of their last five games following a road loss.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 2′ market has hit in each of the Sabres’ last 12 games against opponents on a losing streak.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Buffalo Sabres ranks 27th in the league for goals per game this season (1.50).
- The Buffalo Sabres ranks 26th in the league for goals against per game this season (4.00).
- The Tampa Bay Lightning ranks T29th in the league for goals against per game this season (4.67).
- The Tampa Bay Lightning ranks 4th in the league in power play percentage this season (33.33%).
Randy’s Pick
It’s still early in the season, but the Buffalo Sabres don’t look great in their small sample size, and the offense has yet to get off the canvas. The Tampa Bay Lightning have lost two straight games, but the offense has shown up, and it’s only a matter of time before the goal tending gets it together. From experience, it’s just easier to trust the Lightning in spots like this. The Sabres stringing together losses is nothing new. Give me the Lightning and the reasonable price on the road.
