NHL: Buffalo Sabres vs Toronto Maple Leafs Betting Line Preview
Toronto Can Catch Boston for Second in Atlantic.
It’s safe to say that the Buffalo Sabres (29-29-4, 62 points) are out of the playoff picture once again as they face a 10-point deficit for the second wild card. Even worse news for the Western New York faithful is that their Sabres have played 62 NHL games or more than anyone ahead of them except the Tampa Bay Lightning (63).
The Toronto Maple Leafs (35-18-8, 78 points) are hoping to shake off a home loss to the Boston Bruins, 4-1. They lead the Detroit Red Wings by six points for the last wild card spot. The Leafs opened as a -198 favorite with a total of 6.5 (over -120). Puck is scheduled to drop from the Air Canada Centre at 7:00 p.m. ET / 4:00 p.m. PT and can be seen on TNT and MAX.
Sabres vs Leafs 
Day/Time:
Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON
Streaming: TNT
There Will be Changes In Buffalo
It’s been 14 years since the Buffalo Sabres were in the NHL Hockey playoffs, but after missing out by a point last season, this was supposed to be the season where Buffalo was supposed to break the postseason drought. With just 20 games left in their season, it doesn’t appear that the playoffs are going to be in their future.
The talk today is more about who won’t be there after the trade deadline, with long-time Sabre Kyle Okposo at the top of the list. Okposo has spent eight seasons in Buffalo and will league quite the divot if he’s shipped off to another club.
It’s not because he’s putting up massive numbers (12 goals, 10 assists), it’s because some guys give your room stability when it shouldn’t be stable at all. Bettors should watch closely after the deadline because there will be moves that will affect the totals.
When a player like Okposo, who gets second-line minutes leaves, it forces everyone on that line and below to make adjustments. Despite the disappointments, Buffalo hasn’t cost bettors too much with a 29-33 record, and considering they’re an underdog on most nights, -1.93 isn’t as bad as you might expect.
If Granato’s team finishes in the red, it will be the first time since 2021 that they failed to produce a profit. Over the last three years, Buffalo is 103-123, but that’s been good enough to return 10.29 units, fourth in the NHL interesting enough.
Toronto Needed That One
If you watched the Boston Bruins win at Toronto, it was clear who needed to win more, it was also clear who wanted to win more. The Leafs could have cut the Boston lead to four points with a regulation win but instead, Jeremy Swayman made 32 saves, allowing his team to hold on to and extend an early lead.
We’ve talked many times about the Toronto top six led by NHL goal leader Auston Mathews (53), but it’s the depth that will be tested when they play the better teams in the postseason. They may have completed a preview of what to expect in the playoffs with Boston going for the season sweep on Thursday.
Now, don’t it twisted, Toronto has done very well against hockey teams in our top ten NHL power rankings (9-9) and the league’s top 16 (17-13), but our concern is when Sheldon Keefe’s team has to do it every night without breaks against teams like Boston who might be their first-round opponent.
For bettors, Toronto is just a little bit in the red this hockey season with 1.51 units lost. Losing is nothing new for Leaf bettors but it doesn’t make it less frustrating because since 2013-14 Toronto is 462-429 (.519) straight-up, but has lost 53.26 units overall after producing losing seasons in seven of their last nine. Just seven other teams have been worse in that span including tonight’s opponent who are at the bottom with 90.26 units lost.
With no clear numerical direction, we’re going to jump on the total instead of the side. We conclude our Sabres vs Leafs betting lines preview with our official NHL score prediction
Expect Sabres Money On The Side
The one thing most fans or casual hockey observers don’t know is just how big of a rivalry this is. Buffalo and Toronto are separated by less than two hours and many people who live in Toronto buy Sabres season tickets because of cost.
Because of that rivalry, there will be some bettors who will jump on the plus money, but it’s tough to think they have a legitimate chance to beat the Leafs who will not be caught napping. We think this game will be played by one team who is going to treat this like their Stanley Cup and another who wants to wipe the taste of a bad loss to a division rival from their mouths.
We’re going to give up some juice but we think 6.5 is too many, take the under -115 in a 4-2 Leafs win. That concludes our Sabres vs Leafs betting lines preview, all the best with your Wednesday wagers.
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