Flyers vs Sabres Betting Preview: Pick Cheap Faves
Flyers Lead Capitals in the Metropolitan While the Sabres Survive
The Philadelphia Flyers head to Western New York to clash with the Buffalo Sabres… who are not dead yet. Philadelphia sits in the third spot in the Metropolitan Division. It holds a slim lead over the Washington Capitals who own the last wild card spot, with six games to play. The Flyers vs Sabres betting preview sees odds opened at Buffalo -120 with the total of 6 (over -115).
Flyers vs Sabres 
Records: Flyers (36-29-11), Sabres (36-35-5)
Date, time:Location: KeyBank Center, Buffalo, NY
Stream: MSG-B, NBCSP
Flyers Looking For Stability In Goal
We have the Flyers at 22nd in our latest power rankings, and 12th in the East. They’re in a playoff spot but may lose their spot over the next six games. Part of the problem starts with goaltending. John Tortorella’s team is ranked 17th in goals against, allowing 3.11 goals per game. Instead of that number improving as the playoffs approach, it’s getting worse after allowing 23 goals over their last five games (4.6 per game).
Carter Hart is dealing with legal problems and likely won’t return this season. Back-up Samuel Ersson (21-16-7, 2.81, .891) has not been reliable after producing a 2-3-2 (3.90, .844) record over the team’s last 10 games.
They have turned to Russian veteran Ivan Fedotov (0-0-1) who was drafted in 2015 as an 18-year-old. He made his NHL debut in relief of Ersson in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Islanders three days ago.
In addition to leaky goaltending, the NHL injury report shows Sean Couturier (shoulder) is out. In a league that usually hands out Stanley Cup rings to teams with depth and solid goaltending, the Flyers don’t have either.
The Sabres Mini Surge Starts With Defense
We started to put dirt on the Buffalo Sabres season with ferocity after three straight losses in early March, and we haven’t stopped shoveling but we’ve started using a small garden shovel for the time being.
The Sabres ranked 20th in our power rankings, and 11th in the East, but they have won seven of their last 12 games to stay within shouting distance of the last wild card spot with three teams ahead of them in the race to catch Washington. Part of the reason they’ve been able to tread water is their play defensively since the last week of December.
This season, Buffalo is 14th in goals against (3.00) but since December 27th, the Sabres have not allowed back-to-back games of more than three goals giving Don Granato’s team a record of 22-17-1. Buffalo has allowed 2.60 goals per game in this span, an average that would place them 5th for a full season.
NHL player stats show just one Sabre, Jeff Skinner (24) with more than 20 goals on the season. Until the Sabres improve on their 21st-ranked offense (2.99 goals per game) they’ll have to find their way with sound defense.
Expect Public Money On Philly
The number has ticked to Buffalo to -120 (-130 in some sportsbooks). But we expect this number to come down more before game time. Buffalo is the side here and -120 is a number we love to bet on because we’re getting the better team without having to lay a large number.
This season, teams who are -120 favorites are 25-14 (64.1%) this year and 70-50 (58.3%) over the last three seasons. Of course, we know we need to expand those parameters to cover line movement but the results are the same. Favorites between -115 and -125 are 100-76 (56.8%) this season and 293-239 (55.1%) since the 2021-22 season.
That does it for our Flyers vs Sabres betting preview, we wish you all the best with your NHL scores and picks on Friday.
Flyers vs Sabres Betting Preview
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