In their second head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Montreal Canadiens and the Buffalo Sabres meet at the KeyBank Center. The Sports Network will air this Atlantic Division matchup, and the puck drops at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, January 30.
Montreal Canadiens vs. Buffalo Sabres Odds
Buffalo (-105) is entering this one as the underdog to Montreal (-115), and oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals. If gamblers want to play this matchup’s total, they’ll be looking at odds of -105 money on the over and -115 for the under.
Losing 3.8 units for moneyline bettors, the Sabres are 22-28 straight up (SU) overall this year. That early-season winning percentage is fairly close to the 33-49 record the team posted during the 2018-19 season campaign. Among the team’s 50 games this season, 24 have gone over the total, while another 24 have gone under and just two have pushed. The team’s 14-10 SU at home this season.
Buffalo has converted on 19.3 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 29th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 74.2 percent of all penalties.
Buffalo, as a collective unit, has been penalized 3.5 times per game overall this season, 3.6 per game over its past five contests total, and 3.0 per game over its last five at home. The team’s had to kill penalties for just 8.1 minutes per game over its last 10 matchups, overall.
Boasting a .914 save percentage and 28.5 saves per game, Linus Ullmark (16-17-3) has been the primary goalkeeper for the Sabres this year. If they choose to give him the night off, however, head coach Ralph Krueger may turn to Carter Hutton (6-12-12 record, .892 save percentage, 3.31 goals against average).
The Sabres will continue relying on leadership via Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart. Eichel (63 points) is up to 29 goals and 34 assists and has recorded multiple points 17 times this year. Reinhart has 18 goals and 24 assists to his credit and has recorded at least one point in 29 games.
Montreal has lost 13.7 units for moneyline bettors thus far and is currently 22-29 straight up (SU). Through 51 regular season contests, 25 of its games have gone under the total, while 23 have gone over and just three have pushed. As a road team, Montreal is 12-12 SU so far.
Montreal has converted on 20.1 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 22nd overall and it’s successfully killed off 78.7 percent of all penalties.
Montreal’s skaters have been whistled for penalties only 3.3 times per game this season, and 4.4 per game over their last five road outings. The team has been forced to stave off opponent power plays just 8.2 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Carey Price (27.9 saves per game) has been the primary option in goal for Montreal. Price has 20 wins, 21 losses, and four OT losses to his credit, and has registered a .909 save percentage and 2.85 goals against average this year.
Tomas Tatar (17 goals, 27 assists) has been one of the primary offensive playmakers for the visiting Canadiens.
Montreal Canadiens vs. Buffalo Sabres Betting Predictions
Free NHL Tip: SU Winner – Sabres, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
- The total has gone under in three of Montreal’s last five outings.
- Montreal has attempted 34.9 shots per game overall this season (the second-most in the NHL), and 32.8 in its last five road outings.
- The Canadiens are 7-10 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 17-21 when they’re in the box for fewer than 10 penalty minutes, total.
- Montreal is 3-1 in games decided by a shootout this season while Buffalo is 1-1 in shootouts.
- Buffalo has forced 3.6 takeaways per game over its last five home games, a drop-off from its season average of 5.3 takeaways per game (ranked 30th).
- Montreal is ranked 18th in the NHL with 7.0 takeaways per game. That figure has trended lower lately, however, as the team has managed 5.8 takeaways over its last 10 games and 6.0 takeaways over its last five.
