NHL: Buffalo Sabres vs Florida Panthers NHL Odds Preview
Buffalo Put's 3-Game Streak On Line Against Florida Who Have Won 7 of 8
The Buffalo Sabres (27-27-4, 58 points) are 11 points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for the last wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Sabres have won three straight after taking two points from the Carolina Hurricanes, Sunday, after a 3-2 shootout victory.
The Florida Panthers (38-16-4, 80 points) are two points behind the Boston Bruins for the lead in the Atlantic Division with two games in hand. NHL odds have the Panthers listed as a -225 favorite after opening -220 with a total of 6.5 (over -120).
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET / 4:00 p.m. PT and can be seen on ESPN+ and Hulu. We start our Sabres vs Panthers NHL Odds preview with a deeper analysis of the Sabres.
Sabres vs Panthers 
Day/Time:
Location: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
Streaming: ESPN+
All Eyes On Skinner
The Sabres have put together a much-needed winning streak but the concern now is the status of top-line winger Jeff Skinner (18 goals, 17 assists, 35 points) who left practice Monday after a potential NHL injury.
Head Coach Don Granato said that his top goal scorer is getting “some imaging” work and there hasn’t been an update since ahead of Buffalo’s two-game road trip. Their camp says that Skinner will make the trip after a small scare.
Usually, we can get some confirmation of suspicion from morning skate but Buffalo will not hold a morning skate in Florida. Granato has a press conference scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET to provide an update. Buffalo is in the midst of a small overall win streak, and they have a 5-game road trip on the line.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (17-14-2, .913, 2.45) is probable to start in goal for Granato. The 24-year-old has allowed five goals in his last three starts. For bettors, the Sabres are 27-31 in 2024, -2.23 units (13th). As an underdog, Buffalo is 13-22, -2.44 units, and 14-14 (+3.38 units) on the road.
Only five other teams have produced more profit on the road for bettors. It will be a difficult road to the postseason with Buffalo owning the toughest remaining NHL Hockey schedule with an opponent win percentage of .598.
One Streak Must Fall
The Sabres have a five-game road win streak, but the Panthers have put together a home win streak of four, improving their home mark to 18-8-2. It’s hard to do a Sabres vs Panthers NHL Odds preview without discussing the Panthers’ depth.
Paul Maurice’s top line features two 30-goal scorers in Carter Verhaeghe (30 goals, 30 assists, 60 points) and former Sabre Sam Reinhart (39 goals, 28 assists, 67 points). Reinhart’s 39 goals are among the NHL scoring leaders and second only to the Toronto Maple Leafs Auston Mathews (52) in goals scored.
Mathew Tkachuk will likely hit the 30-goal mark on the second line. Florida will have two blue-liners with double-digit goals in Gustav Forsling (9 goals, 19 assists, 28 points) and Oliver Ekma-Larsson (9 goals, 16 assists, 25 points).
Florida also features goaltending depth with tonight’s probable starter Sergei Bobrovsky (28-11-2, 2.36, .916) and Anthony Stolarz (10-5-2, 1.97, .925). Only four other NHL teams have produced more profit than the Florida Panthers with 6.10 units won. As a favorite, the Panthers are 33-13 (+7.26 units) producing the most money won in 2023-24. Florida has beaten Buffalo in eight of their last nine meetings.
Count On A Show Of Power
We talked about the moneyline movement in tonight’s match-up but there has been an adjustment with the total after opening at 6.5 (under -120). 94% of the tickets are coming in on the under along with 98% of the money. That is a massive amount of money on one side when taking almost 3,000 tickets bet into account.
You expect that percentage with a few 100 wagered but this is simply one-sided wagering. For us, there are no 6.5s to be found so everyone will be in on betting over six (-120).
The Panthers have too much offense to defend, leaving us needing just a couple of goals from Buffalo. Expect this to go down to the final minutes but six is a number that gives us some protection with six goals being the most common outcome of an NHL game. Take the over six and we’ll see you at the cashier’s cage.
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