NHL Atlantic Division: Detroit Red Wings vs Buffalo Sabres
Wings 5-1 in Last Six Against Puck-Line; Sabres 3-8 PL Last 11
The Detroit Red Wings (13-7-3, 29 points) hope to continue their resurgence when they travel to Western New York to take on the disappointing Buffalo Sabres )(10-13-2, 22 points). The Wings have the second-best goal differential in the division (+18), second only to the Boston Bruins (+22).
To think they would be that close to Boston in December is quite a jump for a team that trailed the Bruins by 55 points in the standings and by 167 in goal differential at the end of last season. Detroit opened as a -129 road favorite with a total of 6.5 ( over -121). The puck drops at 7:35 p.m. ET / 4:35 p.m. PT. Let’s start our Red Wings vs Sabres preview starting with the road Wings.
Red Wings vs Sabres
Date, time:
Streaming: Live Sports Stream
Wings Potentially Getting Stronger With Kane
Just to get this out of the way, when Patrick Kane does take the ice for Detroit, the betting public should run the other way, which they won’t. Some have suggested that Kane will play in this one but the number doesn’t seem to be factoring that in, which means, he’s not playing or the books truly don’t know. With Kane, we would expect Detroit to be at least a -130 road favorite.
Thursday is more likely so it’s not all-in on the Sabres for us, but perhaps just the potential of Kane is a distraction for Detroit who will go through a time of acclimation. We’ve heard Kane talking about getting up to game speed, so count on that not happening for a few outings. With or without Kane, Detroit’s story is nice but we’ve seen it before, in fact, we saw it a year ago when the Wings got off to an 11-5-4 start, only to miss the postseason while going against the Thanksgiving playoff position theory.
We think they’re better than last season, but always cautious when it comes to betting teams like Detroit on the NHL moneyline when playing inside the division where games get tighter and the club’s weaknesses are exposed against the squads that know them the best, as is the case Tuesday. We continue our Wings vs Sabres preview by switching our attention to Buffalo.
Granato Heading For The Hot Seat
The Buffalo Sabres would have made the postseason a year ago had it not been for a poor start. They missed it by one point but that was enough to spark expectations this year. With the Sabres already 15 points behind Boston for the division lead and four points from a wild card spot, there will come a time when head coach Don Granaro will find himself on the hot seat. It’s not just about losses, it’s how they’re losing.
Sunday against Nashville, Buffalo came out lethargic against a team they should or could have handled at home. That has caused Granato’s team to play from behind more than they would like. Pretty soon that’s going to fall on the fourth-year coach. There are plenty of NHL games remaining, but this is becoming a question of desire and work ethic. We conclude our Wings vs Sabres preview with our official selection.
We’ve Seen This Story Before
When looking at teams for your NHL picks and parlays, the Wings look like an obvious choice to put your cash behind but the truth is, the Sabres should be desperate enough after losing to Nashville to begin the homestand, that they’re our play in this one. Early betting patterns have shown Buffalo money coming in early, but that’s from sharp money.
We suspect you should be able to get +110 to +115 before puck-drop. Dating back to last season, Buffalo has been a reliable wager as an underdog and we think the Kane hype will take away from the Wings focus, because whether he plays or not, the veteran has traveled with the team to Buffalo. Take the plus money here.
