Free NHL Hockey Prediction: Lightning vs. Sabres NHL Odds
Looking for Tampa Bay Lightning Vs. Buffalo Sabres free hockey plays & NHL Odds? NHL betting sees the Lightning taking on the Sabres on Saturday March 4th at KeyBank Center in Buffalo. Cappers Picks provides complimentary expert handicapping picks on all NHL Hockey games all season long so stay tuned for more FREE daily NHL hockey predictions like this Lightning Sabres matchup.
NHL Hockey Handicapping – Lightning vs. Buffalo
(37-19-4) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Buffalo Sabres (31-25-4)
Date: Saturday March 4th – Lightning vs. Sabres
Time: 12:30 PM ET
Venue: KeyBank Center, Buffalo
Hockey NHL Moneyline Odds: Lightning -155 Sabres +130 (Bet Now!)
NHL Hockey Puck Line Odds: Lightning -1.5 +130 Sabres +1.5 -180
Today’s NHL Betting Total: O/U 6
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The Tampa Bay Lightning will travel to Buffalo to face the Sabres for the 4th time this season. The Lightning won the first two games but did drop the last one 6-5 in overtime.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Tampa Bay will come into Saturday afternoon on a 3 game losing streak with their most recent loss coming against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday 5-4 in overtime. Looking past that game the Lightning have been struggling only going 4-3-3 over the last 10.
Offense
The Lightning are one of the more impressive teams in the NHL they score a bunch of goals ranking 5th most, they also have an elite power play. The power play is ranked 2nd the league at 26%, they went 2 for 5 against the Penguins on Thursday and the power play has been hot recently. They will also get to go against one of the leagues worst penalty kills, so if Buffalo takes a lot of penalties they could be in for a long night.
Defense
Tampa Bays defense is where this team lacks a little bit, they give up the 20th most shots per game, for a team that has been as impressive as they have been this year they do tend to give up a lot of goals. Tampa gives up 3 goals per game which is just average in the NHL. One positive for the Lightning is their penalty kill, it is 10th best and kills off 82% of penalties. It’s safe to say that the Lightning have the advantage on special teams in this match up.
Goaltending
Andrei Vasilevskiy should get the call for Tampa Bay as they look to end this mini slid that they are currently in. Vasilevskiy has been impressive this season going 28-15-3 with a very good 2.61 goals against average and a impressive .917 save percentage, also adds 2 shutouts to his stat line this year.
Buffalo Sabres
Buffalo will be coming into Saturday on a little losing streak of their own, Buffalo is coming off of a dreadful performance against the league leading Bruins. Buffalo was dominated from puck drop to the final buzzer 7-1.
Offense
Offensively the Sabres are very impressive scoring the leagues 3rd most goals at 3.7 per game and that shouldn’t be too much of a surprise as they top 10 in shots on goal per game as well. Another positive for the Sabres is their power play which ranks 6th best in the league scoring 25% of the time.
Defense
Defensively is where it falls off for the Sabres they give up a ton of goals at 26th most in the league, which is aided buy the amount of shots they give up which is also 26th worst in the NHL. A big reason for those numbers is their penalty kill which ranks dead last in the NHL. They will need to be better that usual if they want a chance against a high flying power play like Tampa has.
Goaltending
Craig Anderson is expected to get the call on Saturday he has a good year so far, he’s 9-8-2 and a has a 2.77 goals against average and a good 918 save percentage. He is coming in off of a loss vs a poor Columbus team, advantage Tampa for goaltending.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Buffalo Sabres Injury Report
- Erik Cernak (TB) – Day To Day – Undisclosed
- Alex Tuch (BUF) – IR – Lower Body
- Rasmus Dahlin (BUF) – IR – Undisclosed
Updated Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Buffalo Sabres NHL Odds
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Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends
- Lightning are 1-5 in their last 6 vs. Eastern Conference.
- Lightning are 1-4 in their last 5 overall.
- Under is 3-1-1 in Lightning last 5 after allowing 5 goals or more in their previous game.
- Over is 8-0 in Sabres last 8 following a loss of 3 or more goals.
- Over is 6-0 in Sabres last 6 games playing on 1 days rest.
- Over is 5-1 in Sabres last 6 overall.
- Over is 3-0-1 in the last 4 meetings in Buffalo.
- Over is 7-1-1 in the last 9 meetings.
Free Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Buffalo Sabres NHL Prediction
Both teams need wins, I think the Lightning are the much better team here, but I don’t want to lay -165 on them as they have been struggling of late, so I will take the Over on this Saturday afternoon game.
4* Free Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Buffalo Sabres NHL Betting Pick: Over 6 -125
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