Pittsburgh Penguins (38-21-6) at Buffalo Sabres (29-29-8)
NHL Hockey: Thursday, March 5, 2020 at 7:00 pm (KeyBank Center)
The Line: Buffalo Sabres +149 / Pittsburgh Penguins -165 --- Over/Under: 6 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres meet Thursday in NHL action at the KeyBank Center.
The Pittsburgh Penguins need a win after losing six of their last seven games. The Pittsburgh Penguins are averaging 3.1 goals per game and are scoring on 20.3 percent of their power play opportunities. Bryan Rust leads Pittsburgh with 27 goals, Evgeni Malkin has 46 assists and Kris Letang has 170 shots on goal. Defensively, the Pittsburgh Penguins are allowing 2.8 goals per game and are killing 81.7 percent of their opponents power plays. Matt Murray has given up 98 goals on 975 shots faced and Tristan Jarry has allowed 72 goals on 949 shots. The Pittsburgh Penguins have allowed three or less goals in 16 of their last 22 games.
The Buffalo Sabres need a win to snap a four-game losing streak. The Buffalo Sabres are averaging 2.9 goals per game and are scoring on 19.6 percent of their power play opportunities. Jack Eichel leads Buffalo with 35 goals, Rasmus Dahlin has 33 assists and Sam Reinhart has 135 shots on goal. Defensively, the Buffalo Sabres are allowing 3.1 goals per game and are killing 74.3 percent of their opponents power plays. Carter Hutton has given up 91 goals on 894 shots faced and Linus Ullmark has allowed 89 goals on 1,031 shots. The Buffalo Sabres have allowed three or less goals in 15 of their last 21 games.
The Penguins are 1-4 in their last 5 games as a favorite, 13-5 in their last 18 games playing on 1 days rest and 1-6 in their last 7 overall. The Sabres are 4-0 in their last 4 home games, 5-2 in their last 7 games as a home underdog and 0-4 in their last 4 overall. The under is 5-1-1 in Penguins last 7 road games. The under is 3-1-1 in Sabres last 5 overall. The Penguins are 16-5 in the last 21 meetings in Buffalo and 40-19-3 in the last 62 meetings.
We have two teams that haven't had the best week, so this is a spot where I'll gladly lean toward the home dog. It just so happens the Buffalo Sabres have had their best success at home and have won four of the last five meetings against the Penguins, which includes a 5-2 victory just last week. The Pittsburgh Penguins aren't playing good enough hockey lately to be laying these sort of numbers on the road, especially against a team that's had recent success against them. The Sabres have burned me a lot when chasing these prices, but I'll side with it anyway.
Randy’s Pick Buffalo Sabres +149
AUTHOR: Randy Chambers
Follow Randy Chambers on Twitter @WizardOf0dds