In a game that features two squads currently on losing skids, the Minnesota Wild and the Buffalo Sabres face off at the KeyBank Center. Fox Sports North will broadcast this East-West matchup, and the puck drops at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, February 5.
Minnesota Wild vs. Buffalo Sabres Odds
With a moneyline of -115, Buffalo heads into the contest as the slight favorite. The line for Minnesota sits at -105, and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals (-130 for the under, +110 for the over).
Minnesota is 26-26 straight up (SU) and has lost 7.0 units for moneyline bettors this year. 25 of its matches have gone under the total, while 22 have gone over and just five have pushed. The Wild are 13-13 SU as the road team in 2018-19.
Minnesota has converted on 21.4 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that places them in the top-10 among NHL teams. Its penalty kill is ranked sixth overall, and it’s successfully killed off 83.5 percent of all penalties.
For the team as a whole, Minnesota has been sent to the penalty box 3.8 times per game this season, 3.6 per game over its past five contests total, and 3.2 per game over its last five road outings. The team has been forced to defend opponent power plays just 7.7 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
With a .914 save percentage and 25.7 saves per game, Devan Dubnyk (21-21-3) has been the best option in goal for Minnesota this season. If it chooses to give him a rest, however, the team could turn to Alex Stalock (6-9-1), who has a .892 save percentage and 3.00 goals against average this year.
Zach Parise and Mikael Granlund will both be offensive focal points for the visiting Wild. Parise (45 points) has tallied 20 goals and 25 assists, and has recorded two or more points 10 times. Granlund has 12 goals and 31 assists to his credit, and has registered at least one point in 29 games.
On the other side of the rink, Buffalo is 25-26 straight up (SU) and has earned 2.9 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 51 regular season contests, 28 of its games have gone over the total, while 22 have gone under and just one has pushed. This year, the team is 14-10 SU as the home team.
Buffalo has converted on 17.0 percent of its power play chances this year, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked eighth overall, and it’s successfully killed off 82.0 percent of all penalties.
Buffalo players have been sent to the penalty box only 3.2 times per game this season, and 2.2 per game over their last five match ups. The team’s been forced to kill penalties just 6.0 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Carter Hutton (27.3 saves per game) has been the primary selection in goal for Buffalo. Hutton has 15 wins, 18 losses, and three OT losses to his name and has recorded a subpar .909 save percentage and 2.86 goals against average this season.
Jack Eichel (17 goals, 37 assists) will lead the offensive counter for the Sabres.
Minnesota Wild vs. Buffalo Sabres Free Picks
Pick: SU Winner – Sabres, O/U – Under
Betting Notes
- For both of these teams, the total has gone over in four of their last five outings.
- Minnesota has managed 26.8 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while Buffalo is averaging 36.4 shots per game over its last five at home.
- The Wild are 8-13 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 14-16 when they serve fewer than 10 penalty minutes, in total.
- Buffalo is 3-1 in games decided by a shootout this season while Minnesota is 1-1 in shootouts.
- Buffalo skaters have averaged 6.0 takeaways per game over its last five home games, right in line with its season average of 6.2 takeaways per game (ranked 27th overall).
- Minnesota skaters have created 7.4 takeaways per game over its last five road games, right in line with its season average of 7.2 takeaways per game (ranked 20th in the league).
