Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov, and the Florida Panthers will do battle against Jack Eichel, Victor Olofsson, and the Buffalo Sabres at the KeyBank Center in an Atlantic Division matchup. The match will get going at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 4, and fans at home can catch the game live on Fox SportsNet Florida.
Florida Panthers at Buffalo Sabres Odds
Florida is 21-19 straight up (SU) and has lost 0.6 units for moneyline bettors this year. 23 of its matches have gone over the total, while 13 have gone under and just three have pushed. The Panthers are 8-10 SU as the road team in 2019-20.
Florida has converted on 23.5 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that places them in the top-10 among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 20th in the league, and it’s successfully killed off 79.0 percent of all penalties..
Boasting a .897 save percentage and 26.9 saves per game, Sergei Bobrovsky (16-16-4) has been the best option in goal for Florida this season. If head coach Joel Quenneville decides to rest him, however, the team might turn to Sam Montembeault (3-4-1 record, .889 save percentage, 3.31 goals against average).
Over on the other bench, Buffalo is 18-24 straight up (SU) and has lost 4.9 units for moneyline bettors this year. 21 of its contests have gone over the total, while 20 have gone under and none have pushed. It’s 12-8 SU as the home team this season.
The Sabres have converted on just 17.3 percent of their power play opportunities this year, a mark that places them in the bottom 10 overall among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 28th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 74.2 percent of all opponent power plays.
Linus Ullmark (28.7 saves per game) has been the top netminder in the crease for the Sabres. Ullmark has 12 wins, 14 losses, and three OT losses to his name and has recorded a poor .910 save percentage and 2.86 goals against average this year.
Florida Panthers at Buffalo Sabres Free Picks
Pick: SU Winner – Sabres, O/U – Over
Betting Notes
- The Panthers (3-3 in shootouts) has more shootout experience coming into this one. The Sabres has only participated in a couple of shootouts this year, winning one and losing the other.
- Over Buffalo’s last ten outings, five of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 0-5 in those games).
- Florida skaters created 23.2 hits per game last season, while the Sabres accounted for 19.1 hits per matchup.
