Hurricanes vs Sabres NHL Line & Handicapping
Canes and Sabres Kick Off Stretch Run Tuesday Night
The Olympics are over – what a ride! Now it is time to get back to the business of the NHL stretch run. It all kicks off Tuesday night when the Carolina Hurricanes and Buffalo Sabres meet in a game originally scheduled for January 7 but was postponed due to snow.
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Carolina (26-22-9) at Buffalo (15-34-8)
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Where: First Niagara Center, Buffalo, New York
Broadcast: NHLN-US, SPSO, MSG-B, BELL TV
Canes vs. Sabres Betting Lines from betonline.com
Buffalo -110 / OU is 5
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Carolina was looking good before the break winning seven of 11 games while the Sabres will be looking to snap an ugly but all-too-familiar four game losing streak.
The Carolina Hurricanes have a ton to play for as we head into the stretch-run of the NHL Regular Season – they are sixth in the Metropolitan Division and trail the fifth-place Washington Capitals by two points with two games in hand. The Hurricanes are three points behind the Detroit Red Wings for the second and final wild card playoff spot. The coaching staff likely won’t need a whole lot of time to pump their guys up – the numbers show that the Canes have some ground to make up with zero room for error in the last 25 games.
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Offensively Carolina continues to be a middle-of-the-pack team averaging 2.51 goals per game. As we exit the Olympic break – nobody is hot in the offensive zone – Jeff Skinner ranks tied for sixth in the NHL with six game-winning goals and has two points in his last two games but that’s about it as far as Hot Canes go.
Hopes for Carolina is that they improve defensively in the last 25 games. The team has averaged 2.72 goals against this year – not nearly good enough if they hope to challenge for a playoff spot. The good news is that they have the honor of playing one of the worst offensive teams in the game Tuesday night.
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The Buffalo Sabres, as mentioned have had a tough time in every aspect of the game this season – they score an average of just 1.82 goals per game and they surrender 2.95 goals per game – not exactly a formula for success. The Sabres lost four straight games heading into the break with little relief in sight.
The good news is that Matt Moulson and Cody McCormick should return to the lineup after injury and defenseman Tyler Myers looks good to go as well. The Sabres will need all hands on deck in order to be competitive Monday and having three regulars back in the lineup is a good start.
Dave’s FREE NHL Betting Prediction
A few trends to consider:
• Under is 6-2 in CAR last 8 Tue. games.
• Over is 32-13-9 in CAR last 54 vs. Atlantic.
• CAR are 17-36 in their last 53 vs. Atlantic.
• BUF are 0-8 in their last 8 home games.
• Over is 8-2 in BUF last 10 vs. Eastern Conference.
• Over is 9-3-1 in BUF last 13 overall.
The Buffalo Sabres have occupied the basement of the NHL overall standings all season long – optimism went out the window months ago for this team. Look for a motivated Carolina Hurricanes team to come out firing in their first game back – they have a whole lot more to play for than the Sabres. Buffalo is inexplicably a lost cause – further proof will come Tuesday night!
Pick: Carolina Hurricanes
