Thursday NHL Odds, Prediction: Sabres vs. Bruins Betting Preview (April 28)
Steve Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images. Pictured: Brad Marchand, left, and Patrice Bergeron.
- The Buffalo Sabres and Boston Bruins go head-to-head in an Atlantic division tilt.
- Both offenses should have plenty of success in a game expected to go over the total (Over/Under: 6 goals).
- Tony Sartori shares his analysis and best bet below.
Sabres vs. Bruins Odds
| Sabres Odds | +260 |
| Bruins Odds | -350 |
| Over/Under | 6 (-105 / -115) |
| Time | 7 p.m. ET |
| TV | ESPN+ |
| Odds via BetMGM. Get up-to-the-minute NHL Odds here. | |
We have an Atlantic Division tilt as the fifth-place Buffalo Sabres travel to Boston to take on the fourth-place Bruins. This is the fourth meeting between these two teams this season and there have been six or more goals scored in each of the past two matchups.
Will we see another high-scoring affair between these two teams, or can the goaltending step up this time around?
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres enter this contest on the heels of Saturday's 5-3 win over the New York Islanders. Saturday's game was yet another high-scoring outing for the the Sabres, who have seen six or more goals scored in six straight games and in 15 of their past 17.
A combination of electrifying offense and below-average goaltending have been the main causes for these high-scoring games. Over those 17 contests, the Sabres are averaging an excellent 3.65 goals per game.
Dustin Tokarski will be the starting goaltender for Buffalo. He has really struggled this season and possesses a 0.901 save percentage and allows an average of 3.25 goals. Tokarski enters this game in a bit of a slump as he has allowed three or more goals in six straight appearances between the pipes, posting a mere 0.886 save percentage over that stretch.
Buffalo's blue line will not do Tokarski any favors as the Sabres currently rank 19th in the league in five-on-five expected goals against per 60 minutes (xGA). Over their past 10 contests, the Sabres have surrendered an average of 3.5 goals per game.
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins enter this matchup following Tuesday's 4-2 win over the Florida Panthers. Like Buffalo, the Bruins have seen many high-scoring contests recently. There have been six or more goals scored in nine of their past 16 games.
Boston is still motivated for wins at this point in the year. With just two games left on the schedule, the Bruins are just three points behind Tampa Bay for the third seed in the Atlantic Division. The Bruins' offense has been dialed in recently and is averaging four goals per game over its past three contests.
This season, the Bruins rank 11th in the league in five-on-five expected goals per 60 minutes (xGF). I expect this offensive production to keep rolling against a Sabres team that surrenders a lot of goals each and every night.
Over their three games against Buffalo this season, the Bruins are averaging 4.33 goals per contest. Going against Tokarski, this offense should have no problems holding up its end of the bargain for this game to go over the total.
Sabres vs. Bruins Pick
I believe we are getting good value in the over of six because Boston has a strong blue line and Linus Ullmark is starting in net for the Bruins. Boston's offense should feast in this game and it will probably put up at least four goals against the Sabres.
That means we would only need two or three goals from Buffalo, which is definitely attainable from one of the hottest offenses in the league during the month of April. I would not play this total if it jumps to 6.5 before puck drop.
Pick: Sabres/Bruins Over 6 (-105) | Play up to (-120)
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