The Buffalo Sabres, spearheaded by Jack Eichel and Rasmus Dahlin, are ready to take the ice against Logan Couture, Brent Burns, and the San Jose Sharks at the SAP Center in an East-West showdown. MSG Western New York will showcase the action, which gets going at 10:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 19.
Buffalo Sabres vs. San Jose Sharks Odds
San Jose enters the contest as the obvious favorite with a -165 moneyline. The line for Buffalo sits at +145, and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 7 goals. The odds for betting the total stand at -130 for the under and +110 for the over.
Buffalo is 6-2 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 5.0 units this year. That winning percentage, ranked third in the NHL so far in this young season, is a welcomed improvement over the 33-49 record from last year’s regular season campaign. Through eight regular season matches, Four of its games have gone over the total, while another four have gone under. The Sabres are 2-2 SU on the road in 2019-20.
The Sabres have impressively scored on 34.4 percent of their power play opportunities thus far. That’s a noticeable improvement from last year, when they were ranked 16th in the league by converting on 19.5 percent of their extra-man opportunities. Their penalty kill has fallen off noticeably year-over-year, however, as they’ve gone from successfully defending 80.8 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked 12th overall last year) to 79.2 percent this year..
Averaging 28.2 saves per game with a .953 save percentage, Carter Hutton (5-0) has been the best option in goal for Buffalo this season. If it decides to rest him, however, the team could turn to Linus Ullmark (1-2-1 record, .915 save percentage, 3.24 goals against average).
On the other bench, San Jose is 3-4 straight up (SU) and has lost 1.1 units for moneyline bettors this year. Four of its matches have gone under the total, while three have gone over and none have pushed. So far this year, the team’s 2-1 SU as the home team.
The Sharks have converted on 19.2 percent of their power plays this year after scoring on 22.5 percent (ranked sixth in league) last season. They have killed off a remarkable 91.7 percent of their penalties, a few points up from the 80.5 percent they posted a year ago (when they were ranked 14th in the NHL).
Martin Jones (27.6 saves per game) has been the top choice in goal for the Sharks. Jones has two wins and three losses to his name and has registered a pedestrian 3.24 goals against average and a subpar .902 save percentage this season.
Buffalo Sabres at San Jose Sharks Betting Predictions
NHL Pick: SU Winner – Sharks, O/U – Over
Betting Notes
- After posting a 5-3 record in games decided by a shootout last year, Buffalo is off to a 1-0 start in shootouts this season. San Jose went 0-3 in shootouts last year and has yet to participate in one this time around.
- For both of these clubs, the game went over the total in three of their past five matchups.
