The Buffalo Sabres (11-14-4) and Edmonton Oilers (13-11-5) meet in the NHL tonight. Puck drop is set for 9:00 p.m. EST at Rogers Place in Edmonton, AB. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
The Oilers are favored by -1.5 on the puck line, with the over/under set at 6.5 (-110o / -110u). The Oilers are a -210 favorite to win outright, while the Sabres are +175 to pull off the upset.
Let's get into my Sabres vs. Oilers predictions and NHL picks.
Sabres vs. Oilers Odds, Pick
| Sabres Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+1.5 -140 | 6.5 -112o / -108u | +175 |
| Oilers Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-1.5 +120 | 6.5 -110o / -110u | -210 |
- Sabres vs. Oilers Spread: Oilers -1.5 (+120 ), Sabres +1.5 (-140)
- Sabres vs. Oilers Over/Under: 6.5 (-110o / -110u)
- Sabres vs. Oilers Moneyline: Sabres +175, Oilers -210
Sabres vs. Oilers Preview
Buffalo Sabres
Buffalo’s struggles are very well documented. And now the Sabres are on game four of a six-game road trip, and have gone 0-3 so far.
And you have to feel for Sabres fans, who haven’t seen their team have any sort of success in over 10 years. Even in the season when they won 10 games in a row, they still couldn’t get to the playoffs.
So they’ve lost five out of their last seven games with three more on the road, where they hold a 2-8-2 record.
The crazy thing is, Buffalo’s even-strength play has actually been strong. Even its special teams have performed well this season!
Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch are doing their best to keep this team afloat, but goaltending continues to be the biggest downfall of this team.
When you have career-backup Alex Lyon as your starter, that’s the first problem you have. And neither Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen nor Colten Ellis has been good enough to take the job from him either.
With the Oilers, who have scored 13 goals in the past two games, looking you in the eye, I’d be concerned.
Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton is a notoriously slow-starting team, so its current placing in the standings shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.
It’s starting to look like the Oilers are getting their swagger back, though, even if they suffered a few injury blows to Jake Walman, Kasperi Kapanen and Jack Roslovic.
Both superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are playing at an insane level of hockey, so you can overlook the key injuries for the time being.
Defensively, this team hasn’t been very good all season, and it certainly exposes the poor goaltending that has been hampering the Oilers for quite some time. Over the past month, Edmonton has been playing to a sub-standard 3.13 xGA/60, which is third-worst in the league.
I mentioned the goaltending woes before, because you can’t talk about Edmonton’s two straight seasons of missing just missing the Stanley Cup, if you don’t mention the goaltending.
Regardless of his current standing, the Stuart Skinner experience needs to be done soon. He’s been a sieve all season, and Cal Pickard is not much better.
I will give Skinner the benefit of the doubt, though. His past three games have been really strong, but his volatility has shown that that could end really soon.
Both netminders are playing to an .885 SV% or worse.
Sabres vs. Oilers Prediction
This is the perfect recipe for the over.
Two teams with high-octane offense, but terrible goaltending? Yes please!!
With Buffalo just playing in Calgary last night, it was a game that saw 11 goals, and as I previously mentioned, the Oilers have combined for 13 goals in the past two games.
I would be stunned if this game doesn’t sniff seven goals.
No matter who starts in net for both teams, I don’t trust any of their goalies enough to consider the under. At -110, I’m very bullish on taking those odds.
Pick: Over 6.5 (-110)
