The Buffalo Sabres and the Minnesota Wild meet Saturday in NHL action from the Xcel Energy Center. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Buffalo Sabres vs. Minnesota Wild prediction.
Matchup History
The Minnesota Wild won the lone meeting between these two teams in Buffalo back on November 27th, 2024, by a final score of 1-0. The win for the Wild snapped Buffalo’s two-game head-to-head win streak but the Sabres have still won 7 of the last 10 meetings head-to-head.
Buffalo Sabres Recap
The Buffalo Sabres come into this game looking to bounce back from a 5-2 loss at the hands of the Utah Hockey Club last time out to slip to 27-34-6 on the year. After this game, Buffalo will head on the road for a matchup with the Winnipeg Jets.
Sabres Drop 7 Of Last 10
Tage Thompson leads the Sabres with 60 points including a team-leading 34 goals along with 26 assists while Alex Tuch is right behind with 50 points including 26 goals and 24 assists. JJ Peterka has 52 points with 20 goals and 32 assists and Rasmus Dahlin has 52 points with 12 goals and 40 assists. Jason Zucker’s also added 46 points with 19 goals and 27 assists. Devon Levi has gone 2-7 in net for the Sabres with a 4.12 GAA and an .872 save percentage while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is 23-21-4 with a 3.16 GAA and an .888 save percentage as well on the year. James Reimer is 2-6-2 with a 2.72 GAA and a .902 save percentage.
Why the Buffalo Sabres will win
- The Sabres have won six of their last eight games as underdogs against the Wild.
- The Wild have lost two of their last three games as favorites.
- The underdogs have covered the puck line in each of the last 10 games between the Sabres and Wild.
- The Wild have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last four home games against Atlantic Division opponents.
Buffalo Sabres Player Prop Facts
- Tage Thompson has recorded at least one assist in six of the Sabres’ last seven games against Central Division opponents.
- Jason Zucker has recorded at least one point in each of the Sabres’ last eight games as underdogs against Central Division opponents.
- Joshua Norris has scored a goal in three of his last four appearances against Central Division opponents.
- Alex Tuch ranks T1st in the league for shootout goals (3) this season.
Minnesota Wild Recap
The Minnesota Wild come into this game looking to add on to their 4-0 win over the Seattle Kraken in their last game to improve to 39-25-5 on the year. After this game, Minnesota will head on the road for a game against the Dallas Stars.
Wild Win Back-To-Back Games
Kirill Kaprizov has 52 points including 23 goals and 29 assists while Matt Boldy has 58 points including 23 goals and 35 assists. Marco Rossi has 53 points with 21 goals and 32 assists while Mats Zuccarello has 42 points with 16 goals and 26 assists. Filip Gustavsson has gone 27-15-4 with a 2.51 GAA and a .917 save percentage in goal for Minnesota while Marc-Andre Fleury is 12-8-1 with a 2.72 GAA and a .904 save percentage on the year. Jesper Wallstedt is 0-2 with a 4.09 GAA and an .843 save percentage this season.
Why the Minnesota Wild will win
- The Sabres have lost each of their last nine games as road underdogs.
- The home team has won six of the Sabres’ last seven games.
- The home team has covered the puck line in each of the Sabres’ last six games.
- The Sabres have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last four road games.
Minnesota Wild Player Prop Facts
- Kirill Kaprizov has recorded at least one point in each of his last 11 appearances in day games.
- Joel Eriksson Ek has scored a goal in four of the Wild’s last five games against the Sabres.
- Kirill Kaprizov has recorded at least one assist in eight of his last nine appearances with the Wild as home favorites against Atlantic Division opponents.
- Kirill Kaprizov has scored the last goal in three of his last four appearances with the Wild as favorites against Atlantic Division opponents.
- Matthew Boldy ranks T1st in the league for shootout goals (3) this season.
Total Goals Facts
- Eight of the Sabres’ last nine day games have gone OVER the total goals line.
- Seven of the Wild’s last eight home games have gone UNDER the total goals line.
Buffalo Sabres vs. Minnesota Wild Prediction
I’m on the Wild here. Minnesota for me is just the better team and while the head-to-head trends over the last little bit do favor Buffalo, I just think that the Sabres are in some trouble here as they’ve been running out of steam down the stretch. Minnesota’s trying to cling to one of the Wild Card spots and potentially crack the top-3 in the Central division, and I think that Minnesota gets the job done in this game. Give me Minnesota here.