Two franchises that split their head-to-head series one win each a year ago, the Vancouver Canucks and the Buffalo Sabres face off at the KeyBank Center. The match will get going at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday, November 10, and you can catch this cross-continent matchup live on Sportsnet.
Vancouver Canucks at Buffalo Sabres Odds
With a -175 moneyline, Buffalo enters the matchup as the noticeable favorite. The line for Vancouver sits at +155, and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals. The odds for betting the total sit at -115 for the over and -105 on the under.
Vancouver is 10-7 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 10.3 units this year. Nine of its contests have gone under the total, while eight have gone over and none have pushed. The Nucks are 5-5 SU on the road in 2018-19.
Vancouver has converted on 21.2 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 17th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 79.4 percent of its penalties.
For the team as a whole, Vancouver has been sent to the penalty box 4.4 times per game overall this season, and 3.6 per game over its past five outings. The team has been forced to kill penalties just 8.2 minutes per game over their last five outings.
Averaging 29.0 saves per game with a .896 save percentage, Jacob Markstrom (7-4-1) has been the primary option in goal for Vancouver this season. If it decides to give him a rest, however, the team may turn to Anders Nilsson (3-3), who has a .912 save percentage and 2.67 goals against average this year.
Elias Pettersson and Bo Horvat will both lead the offensive attack for the visiting Canucks. Pettersson (17 points) has tallied 10 goals and seven assists, and has recorded multiple points in four different games. Horvat has nine goals and six assists to his creditand has notched at least one point in nine games.
Buffalo is 8-8 straight up (SU) and has earned 1.3 units for moneyline bettors this year. Nine of its contests have gone over the total, while six have gone under and just one has pushed. It’s 4-3 SU at home thus far.
Buffalo has converted on 18.6 percent of its power play chances this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 15th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 80.0 percent of all opponent power plays.
The Sabres have been penalized only 3.8 times per game this season, and 3.0 per game over their last five at home. The team has been forced to kill penalties just 7.2 minutes per game over their last five outings.
Carter Hutton has stopped 26.3 shots per game as the top netminder in the crease for Buffalo. Hutton has five wins, seven losses, and one overtime loss to his credit and has maintained a pedestrian 2.78 goals against average and a .911 save percentage this year.
The Sabres offense will be led by Jack Eichel (four goals, 15 assists).
Vancouver Canucks at Buffalo Sabres Betting Predictions
NHL Tip: SU Winner – Sabres, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
- The over has hit in four of Vancouver’s last five outings.
- The Sabres are 2-3 SU in games where they serve more penalty minutes than their opponent while the Canucks are 7-1 SU when they spend more time in the box than their opponent.
- Buffalo is ranked 30th overall this season with 4.5 takeaways per game. That figure’s trended higher, as it has managed 5.3 takeaways over its last 10 games and 5.6 takeaways over its last five.
- Vancouver has averaged 10.2 takeaways per game over its last five road games, an improvement over its season average of 8.8 takeaways per game (ranked ninth).
