NHL Odds, Preview, Prediction: Sabres vs Panthers (Tuesday, February 27)
Joe Hrycych/NHLI via Getty Images. Pictured: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen of the Buffalo Sabres
Sabres vs. Panthers Odds
| Sabres Odds | +195 |
| Panthers Odds | -240 |
| Over / Under | 6 -120 / +100 |
Here's everything you need to know about the Buffalo Sabres vs. Florida Panthers on Tuesday, February 27 – our expert NHL prediction and pick.
Florida has dominated this matchup over the past couple of seasons, winning eight of the past nine meetings.
Will the Panthers take care of business once again? Or can Buffalo pull off the upset?
Let's dig into the odds and make a Sabres vs. Panthers pick and prediction in my NHL betting preview.
The Sabres have won four of their past five games, but now is the time to sell high on them.
First, this offense has struggled mightily all year.
Entering this matchup, they rank 24th or lower in the league in goals scored per game, power-play percentage and shooting percentage. Adding to these woes is the fact that forward Jeff Skinner is questionable for this game with an undisclosed injury.
On the other hand, this team bleeds high-danger scoring chances at the other end of the ice. At 5-on-5, Buffalo ranks 26th in expected goals against per 60 minutes (xGA/60).
Backing up this poor two-way team is goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who is slated to guard the cage for the Sabres in this matchup. While I am bullish on Luukkonen, he is 0-1 in his career against Florida.
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Additionally, Luukkonen will not even be the better goaltender in this game.
Sergei Bobrovsky is expected to get the nod across the ice for the Panthers. Bobrovsky is flying under the radar in the Vezina Trophy conversation, but this guy is 28-11-2 this season with a .916 SV% and 2.36 GAA.
Bobrovsky enters this contest in tremendous form, allowing two or fewer goals in each of his past eight starts. Over that stretch, he is 7-1 with a commanding .947 SV% and 1.61 GAA.
Five of those seven wins came by at least a two-goal margin. This success is likely to continue against Buffalo. In his past 19 games against the Sabres, he is 11-6-1 with a .914 SV% and 2.68 GAA.
It certainly helps his cause that he plays behind one of the best blue lines in the league. At 5-on-5, Florida ranks third in xGA/60.
Meanwhile, the offense is just as good, ranking fifth in expected goals for per 60 minutes (xGF/60) at 5-on-5.
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Sabres vs. Panthers
Betting Pick & Prediction
There is just not a single aspect in this game in which the Sabres possess an advantage.
Offensively, they rank lower than the Panthers in goals scored per game, shots on goal per game, power-play percentage, shooting percentage, faceoff percentage and xGF/60 at 5-on-5.
The same troubling power imbalance remains true on the defensive end of the ice as Buffalo ranks lower in goals allowed per game, shots on goal allowed per game, penalty kill percentage, penalty minutes taken per game and xGA/60 at 5-on-5.
There is literally not a single statistic in which the Sabres are better, and they are also on the road in a matchup where Bobrovsky is the better goaltender.
Finally, 12 of Florida's past 17 wins have come by at least a two-goal margin.
Expect the Panthers to use those advantages for a multi-goal win, so take them on the puck line.
Pick: Panthers -1.5 (+110 at bet365 | Play to +105)
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