A couple of teams currently on losing streaks, the Minnesota Wild and the Buffalo Sabres collide at the KeyBank Center in an East-West showdown. Fox Sports North will air the game, which gets underway at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday, November 22.
Minnesota Wild vs. Buffalo Sabres Odds
Minnesota (-160) is currently favored over Buffalo (+140), and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 6 goals. The line for betting the total stands at -135 for the under and +115 for the over.
Minnesota is 9-11 straight up (SU) and has lost 4.8 units for moneyline bettors thus far. Through 20 regular season matches, 10 of its games have gone over the total, while eight have gone under and just two have pushed. The Wild are 4-6 SU on the road in 2017-18.
Minnesota has converted on 20.0 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that’s right around league average. Additionally, its penalty kill is ranked seventh overall, and it’s successfully killed off 84.3 percent of its penalties.
Minnesota, as a collective unit, has been sent to the penalty box just 3.8 times per game overall this season, and 3.1 per game over its last ten contests. The team has had to kill penalties just 6.9 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Boasting a .918 save percentage and 27.9 saves per game, Devan Dubnyk (8-8-2) has been the top option in goal for Minnesota this year. If Minnesota chooses to rest him, however, they could turn to Alex Stalock (1-4-1), who has a .927 save percentage and 2.56 goals against average this year.
Eric Staal and Jason Zucker will both be relied on to facilitate things for the visiting Wild. Staal has 18 points on seven goals and 11 assists, and has recorded multiple points five times. Zucker has 11 goals and five assists to his credit (and has notched at least one point in 10 games).
Buffalo is 5-16 straight up (SU) and has already lost 11.4 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 21 regular season matches, 10 of its games have gone under the total, while nine have gone over and just two have pushed. This year, the teams 2-7 SU at home.
Buffalo has converted on just 14.9 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that places it in the bottom 5 overall among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked seventh overall, and it’s successfully killed off 84.1 percent of all opponent power plays.
Buffalo players have been called for penalties only 3.6 times per game in total this season, 4.0 per game over their past five games total, and 3.4 per game over their last five home outings. The teams had to stave off opponent power plays just 7.9 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Robin Lehner (24.7 saves per game) has been the primary netminder in goal for Buffalo. Lehner has four wins, 11 losses, and two OT losses and has recorded a fairly-weak .903 save percentage and 3.08 goals against average this year.
The Sabres will be led on offense by Evander Kane (12 goals, eight assists).
Minnesota Wild vs. Buffalo Sabres Betting Predictions
Predictions: SU Winner – Sabres, O/U – Under
Betting Notes:
- The total has gone under in four of Buffalo’s last five games.
- The Sabres are 2-6 when the team serves fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 5-11 in games where they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes.
- Buffalo skaters have created 7.0 takeaways per game over its last five home games, an improvement over its season average of 5.4 takeaways per game (ranked 29th in the NHL).
- Minnesota has created 6.5 takeaways per game (ranked 23rd).
