Buffalo Sabres VS Ottawa Senators feature two Atlantic Divison teams making a future for themselves in the regular season as they take the ice in search of a win in Western New York. The Senators are the guest on a road trip to face the Buffalo Sabres.
Ottawa defeated the Carolina Panthers 3-2 at home in a past matchup on Monday Night. While Buffalo is fresh off a 6-2 pasting on the road against New Jersey in the second game of a back-to-back situation in the last game on Tuesday night.
In the previous 10 meetings between these sides, the Senators secured a 7-3 advantage and took two straight. This includes a 3-1 home win in the most recent game on January 1.
For accurate NHL Predictions Today for Buffalo Sabres VS Ottawa Senators, you can count on MatchPlug. We have picks and odds for this game too.
Betting Preview for Buffalo Sabres VS Ottawa Senators NHL Regular Season
- Venue: KeyBank Center, Buffalo
- Date: Thursday, April 13th, 2023
- Time: 16:00 GMT
- Teams to play: Sabres VS Senators
- NHL Picks: MONEYLINE 2.168
Odds as provided by 1XBet and BetMGM.
Betting On The Buffalo Sabres
Season Record: 40-33-7
- 1XBet Spread: -1.5
- 1XBet Total: Over 6.5
- 1XBet Moneyline: 2.168
- BetMGM Spread: -1.5
- BetMGM Total: Under 7
- BetMGM Moneyline: 1.74
Buffalo Sabres won three consecutive and five out of their last six games before getting thrashed by the New Jersey Devils on the road Tuesday night. They entered Wednesday in fifth position in the Atlantic Division with a 40-33-7 mark, 46 points behind the Bruins for the top spot.
The Sabres were eliminated from playoff competition, extending the NHL’s longest playoff drought to 12 seasons. For this season, they are 4th in offense as they averaged 3.55 goals per game on the season. They are tied for 27th place in the league in goals against as they allow 3.65 goals per contest this year. They are 28th in the league in goals against as they allow 3.65 goals per contest this year. Buffalo is in 8th place in power play success as they cash in 23.5% of their chances with the man advantage. The Sabres are 28th in penalty killing, successfully scaling through shorthanded situations on the year.
Buffalo was burnt out from playing the Devils in the second match of a back-to-back and it told on their performance against New Jersey. This was what removed them from playoff contention. They saw few shots at 10 in the opening period of play but scored 1-0 after 20 minutes. In the second period, they held a 15-9 advantage in shots on goal but were outscored 2-1 to trail 3-1 at the second intermission.
After a 2-0 fall, Jeff Skinner got the Sabres on the board with his 34th goal this season at 6.55 off assists from Casey Mittelstadt and Alex Tuch. Buffalo conceded a goal later to recover their two-gap deficit. They were outshot 13-11 in the third period and outscored 31- to wind up the loss. Mattias Samuelsson forfeited a goal to trail 4-1 but got the Sabres back within two with his second goal of the season at 13:15 off an assist from Tuch.
This was the closest Buffalo ever got as New Jersey laid on with a couple of empty net goals to secure the decision. Devon Levi made 24 saves for the Sabres, who had a 38-30 edge shots on goal, in the loss. Ukka-Pekka Luokkonen is expected to get the lead in goal for today’s matchup.
Betting On The Ottawa Senators
Season Record: 39-35-7
- 1XBet Spread: +1.5
- 1XBet Total: Under 6.5
- 1XBet Moneyline: 2.856
- BetMGM Spread: +1.5
- BetMGM Total: Over 7
- BetMGM Moneyline: 2.15
The Ottawa Senators won their second consecutive match as they handled the Carolina Panthers on home ice Monday night, although it was too late for their playoff dreams. They entered Wednesday night 39-35-7 on the season and were sixth in the Atlantic Division standings, 48 points behind the Bruins for the division lead. The Senators have been removed from playoff contention.
Ottawa is tied for 17th in offense as they average 3.16 goals per game to this part of the season. They tie for 20th in goals against, allowing an average of 3.28 goals per contest this year. The Senators are 9th with the man advantage as they have cashed in 23.4% of their chances with the man advantage this season. They are 14th in penalty killing, successfully navigating 80.1% of their shorthanded situations this season.
The Senators began strongly against the Panthers, they let them back into the game, then proceeded to win late to make it two straight wins. They maintained a 10-9 edge in shots on goals in the opening period of play and took a 2-0 lead to the dressing room after 20 minutes of play. Claude Giroux kicked off scoring with his 33rd goal of the season at 5:51 off assists from Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle. Stutzle later made it a 2-0 game with his 38th goal of the year at 17:26 with Giroux and Tkachuk drawing the assists on the marker.
Ottawa was outshot 12-8 in the second period of play and outscored 1-0 to narrow their margin to 2-1 after 40 minutes. In the third period, Carolina outshot them 12-10 with both teams scoring once, leaving the hosts with the lead as time expired. When the Panthers tied the game, Giroux scored his second goal and 34th of the season at 9:37 to give the Senators a lead. That goal held up as the game-winner and Claude ended the night with 1,001 career points. Mads Sogaard made 27 saves for the Senators, who were outshot 32-29, in the win. He is expected to get the start in goal again today.
MatchPlug Prediction
Buffalo and Ottawa are playing out the string on a season that couldn’t produce the ultimate goal. The Senators added some weapons to their Arsenal but their goaltending has been a disappointment which put them on the outside looking in for the postseason.
The Sabres took major forward steps this campaign as their young core greatly improved from last season, Just like Ottawa, they too struggled with keeping the puck out of their net. If Levi can exploit his hampered action in the last week of the season, the Sabres could end the drought next season.
For this match, the Sabres are on their third game in four nights against the well-rested Ottawa team. This is enough to give them little advantage in this contest.
Final Prediction: Buffalo Sabres Moneyline.
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