Buffalo Sabres (29-27-8) at Arizona Coyotes (31-27-8)
NHL Hockey: Saturday, February 29, 2020 at 8:00 pm (Gila River Arena)
The Line: Arizona Coyotes -170 / Buffalo Sabres +153 --- Over/Under: 5.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The Buffalo Sabres and Arizona Coyotes meet Saturday in NHL action at the Gila River Arena.
The Buffalo Sabres look for a win after splitting their last six games. The Buffalo Sabres are averaging 2.9 goals per game and are scoring on 20.1 percent of their power play opportunities. Jack Eichel leads Buffalo with 35 goals, Rasmus Dahlin has 33 assists and Sam Reinhart has 130 shots on goal. Defensively, the Buffalo Sabres are allowing 3.1 goals per game and are killing 74.7 percent of their opponents power plays. Carter Hutton has given up 85 goals on 832 shots faced and Linus Ullmark has allowed 89 goals on 1,031 shots. The Buffalo Sabres have allowed three or less goals in 14 of their last 19 games.
The Arizona Coyotes need a win after losing seven of their last 11 games. The Arizona Coyotes are averaging 2.7 goals per game and are scoring on 19.6 percent of their power play opportunities. Conor Garland leads Arizona with 22 goals, Nick Schmaltz has 34 assists and Oliver Ekman-Larsson has 122 shots on goal. Defensively, the Arizona Coyotes are allowing 2.6 goals per game and are killing 83.2 percent of their opponents power plays. Darcy Kuemper has given up 55 goals on 772 shots faced and Antti Raanta has allowed 78 goals on 987 shots. The Arizona Coyotes have allowed three or more goals in 13 of their last 19 games.
The Sabres are 4-1 in their last 5 games as an underdog, 40-93 in their last 133 games playing on 0 days rest and 14-44 in their last 58 road games. The Coyotes are 2-5 in their last 7 games as a favorite, 2-5 in their last 7 vs. Atlantic and 6-15 in their last 21 overall. The under is 4-1 in Sabres last 5 games playing on 0 days rest. The under is 7-1-1 in Coyotes last 9 overall. The Sabres are 8-1 in the last 9 meetings in Arizona and 14-5 in the last 19 meetings.
The Buffalo Sabres just can't make up their mind when it comes to what team they want to be, and they're horrible on the road and on the end of back to backs dating back to last season. The Arizona Coyotes should be favored, however, they're a team that's given us very little reason to want to get behind them in the favorite role. The Coyotes have not only lost seven of their last 11 games, but they've failed to beat the teams they're supposed to beat, and they're a top-10 least profitable team in the sport. I'll side with the Sabres simply because of the plus money.
Randy’s Pick Buffalo Sabres +153
AUTHOR: Randy Chambers
Follow Randy Chambers on Twitter @WizardOf0dds