The Buffalo Sabres and the Winnipeg Jets square off in NHL action from the KeyBank Center on Friday night.
Sabres Fall To Bruins
The Buffalo Sabres come into this game looking to shake off a 5-2 loss to the Boston Bruins in their last matchup. Jeff Skinner and Casey Mittelstadt each have a team-high 13 points with Skinner logging a team-high 7 goals and 6 assists while Mittelstadt has a team-high 10 assists. Tage Thompson has 12 points split between 6 goals and 6 assists while JJ Peterka and Rasmus Dahlin each have 11 points with Peterka logging 6 goals and 5 assists and Dahlin punching in 8 assists. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has a 3-3-1 record with a 2.92 GAA and an .909 save percentage while Devon Levi is 3-4 with a 3.65 GAA and an .881 save percentage this season in goal for the Sabres.
Buffalo Sabres Team Facts
- The Sabres have won five of their last six games as underdogs following a home loss.
- The Sabres have covered the puck line in each of their last eight games as underdogs following a home loss.
- The Sabres have won the second period in each of their last four night games following a home loss.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 2′ market has hit in 13 of the Sabres’ last 14 games following a home loss.
Jets Win 4th Game In Last 5
The Winnipeg Jets picked up another win last time out by downing the New Jersey Devils by a final score of 6-3. Kyle Connor leads the Jets in scoring with 20 points including a team-high 13 goals while Mark Scheifele has 18 points with 5 goals and a team-high 13 assists. Josh Morrissey has 14 points with 13 assists of his own while Cole Perfetti has 13 points with 5 goals and 8 assists and Alex Iafallo has 13 points with 9 assists. Connor Hellebuyck has gone 7-4-1 with a 2.99 GAA and an .894 save percentage in goal for Winnipeg while Laurent Brossoit is 1-1-1 with a 3.25 GAA and an .872 save percentage this season.
Winnipeg Jets Team Facts
- The underdogs have won three of the last four games between the Sabres and Jets at Canada Life Centre.
- The Jets have covered the puck line in each of their last five games.
- The Jets have won the second period in each of their last seven night games against the Sabres following a win.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 1′ market has hit in each of the Jets’ last seven games against Atlantic Division opponents.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Winnipeg Jets ranks T6th in the league for goals per game this season (3.67).
- The Winnipeg Jets ranks 26th in the league in penalty kill percentage this season (72.22%).
- The Buffalo Sabres ranks 29th in the league in power play percentage this season (10.64%).
- The Buffalo Sabres ranks 3rd in the league for Period 2 goals allowed per game this season (0.56).
Chris’ Pick
The road team has dominated this matchup, so the plus money with the Sabres is tempting, but the Jets are just playing the better hockey right now and this Sabres team feels a bit lost and disjointed without Tage Thompson in the lineup. I just feel like side-by-side, the Jets are the better team with a clear edge in goaltending in my opinion so give me Winnipeg at home in this one.
