The Buffalo Sabres and the Chicago Blackhawks meet Saturday in NHL action from the United Center. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Chicago Blackhawks vs Buffalo Sabres Prediction.
Buffalo Sabres Recap
The Buffalo Sabres come into this game looking to rebound from back-to-back losses after a 6-4 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets last time out. After this game, Buffalo will head home to start a homestand with a date against the Dallas Stars.
Sabres Looking To Get Defense Tightened Up
Alex Tuch leads the Sabres in scoring with 6 points including a team-high 4 assists while Tage Thompson, JJ Peterka, Jordan Greenway, and Jason Zucker all have 4 points. Thompson and Peterka each have a team-high 3 goals while Greenway has 2 goals and 2 assists and Zucker has a team-high 4 assists. Ryan McLeod has 3 points with a pair of goals while Henri Jokiharju has 3 points with 2 assists and Bowen Byram has 3 assists on the year. Devon Levi has gone 1-2 in net for the Sabres with a 3.79 GAA and a .874 save percentage while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is 0-2-1 with a 3.69 GAA and a .874 save percentage as well on the year.
Why the Buffalo Sabres will win
- The Blackhawks have lost each of their last 10 games as underdogs following a home win.
- The Sabres have won five of their last six games against the Blackhawks.
- The Blackhawks have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last seven games as underdogs following a home win.
- The favorites have covered the puck line in each of the Blackhawks’ last four games at United Center.
Chicago Blackhawks Recap
The Chicago Blackhawks come into this game looking to build on a 4-2 win over the San Jose Sharks to get to 2-2-1 on the year. After this game, the Blackhawks will welcome the Vancouver Canucks to town.
Blackhawks Trying To Show Signs Of Improvement Early On
Teuvo Teravainen and Connor Bedard each have a team-high 7 points with Teravainen logging a team-high 3 goals and 4 assists while Bedard has a team-high 6 assists. Seth Jones has 5 points with a goal and 4 assists while Nick Foligno has added 3 goals on the year. Taylor Hall, TJ Brodie, and Alex Vlasic each have 2 points with Hall logging a goal and an assist while Brodie and Vlasic each have a pair of assists. Petr Mrazek has gone 2-2 with a 2.53 GAA and a .911 save percentage in goal for the Blackhawks while Arvid Soderblom is 0-0-1 with a 1.98 GAA and a .943 save percentage as well on the year.
Why the Chicago Blackhawks will win
- The Blackhawks have won seven of their last eight night games against opponents on a losing streak.
- The Sabres have lost each of their last four night games against Central Division opponents.
- The underdogs have covered the puck line in each of the Sabres’ last four games.
- The Sabres have failed to cover the puck line in four of their last five games as road favorites.
Chicago Blackhawks vs Buffalo Sabres Prediction
I’m on the Blackhawks here. I just don’t know which version of the Sabres is going to show up, and the defense has taken a backseat for Buffalo in recent games. Chicago is at least showing some signs of improvement, and even when Chicago was struggling last year, they still won 23 games and 15 of those came at home. I’ll take my shot on the value with the Blackhawks here.