The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Buffalo Sabres meet Saturday in NHL action from KeyBank Arena. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Buffalo Sabres prediction.
Toronto Maple Leafs Team Preview
The Toronto Maple Leafs come into this game looking to build on a 5-1 win over Washington last time out. William Nylander leads the Maple Leafs in scoring with 94 points including 40 goals and 54 assists while Auston Matthews has 94 points with a team-high 59 goals. Mitch Marner has 76 points with 51 assists while John Tavares has 57 points with 23 goals and 34 assists and Morgan Rielly has 51 points with 44 assists this season. Ilya Samsonov has gone 19-6-7 with a 3.12 GAA and an .889 save percentage and Joseph Woll has posted a 11-9-1 record with a 2.87 GAA and a .910 save percentage while Martin Jones is also 11-7-1 with a 2.71 GAA and a .907 save percentage as well this season.
Toronto Maple Leafs Team Facts
- The Maple Leafs have lost five of their last seven games as favorites against Atlantic Division opponents.
- The Maple Leafs have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last 24 games as favorites against Atlantic Division opponents.
- The road team has won the third period in seven of the Maple Leafs’ last eight games.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 3′ market has hit in 18 of the Maple Leafs’ last 19 games as favorites.
Buffalo Sabres Team Preview
The Buffalo Sabres come into this game looking to build on a 5-2 win over New Jersey last time out. Rasmus Dahlin leads the Sabres with 53 points with 17 goals and 36 assists. Jeff Skinner has 45 points with 24 goals while JJ Peterka has 46 points with 26 goals and 20 assists. Alex Tuch also has 51 points with 19 goals and 32 assists this season. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has a 24-19-3 record with a 2.57 GAA and a .911 save percentage while Devon Levi is 10-8-2 with a 3.16 GAA and an .899 save percentage and Eric Comrie is 1-7 with a 3.91 GAA and a .864 save percentage this season in goal for the Sabres. The Sabres will meet the Capitals and Flyers after this one.
Buffalo Sabres Team Facts
- The Sabres have won five of their last six games as home underdogs.
- The Sabres have covered the puck line in each of their last six games as underdogs against Eastern Conference opponents.
- The home team has won the second period in eight of the Sabres’ last nine games.
- The ‘Over 2.5 Goals Period 3’ market has hit in each of the last seven games between the Maple Leafs and Sabres at KeyBank Center.
Maple Leafs vs. Sabres Prediction
I’m on the Maple Leafs here. This is just a tough spot for the Sabres on the back-to-back against a high-powered Leafs offense when I haven’t been able to trust the goaltending for the Sabres at the best of times. Toronto is almost locked into the 3-seed in the Atlantic division, but I still think they’re the better team with a rest edge here so give me Toronto at the reasonable price.