Boston Bruins vs. Buffalo Sabres Game 1 Prediction, NHL Odds
The Buffalo Sabres will officially snap their 14-year playoff drought on Sunday night as they open their first-round matchup with the Boston Bruins.
Back on December 17th, the Sabres were in last place in the Atlantic. Now four months later, they have claimed their first division title in the team’s history and will have home-ice advantage in the playoffs for at least the first two rounds in a city that is fully behind their team. The NHL odds have the Sabres as the -160 favourites in Game 1, with the OVER/UNDER set at an even 6 goals. KeyBank Arena will be absolutely buzzing for the 7:30 EST puck drop.
Bruins vs. Sabres NHL Betting Odds
The Sabres open the series as the -189 favourite to win the series, after finishing the regular season with nine more wins in regulation, as well as nine more points in the standings. The four-game season series saw the Bruins win three times, two of those coming in overtime, proving just how tight this series is shaping up to be. How many games will this thing go? Well, our NHL futures board has six games as the favoured result, paying +190, but seven games is not far behind at +200.
After putting up six points (3G, 3A) in their four-game season series, David Pastrnak is the favourite to lead the series in scoring at +230. He has 87 points (39G, 48A) in 90 career playoff games. He and Tage Thompson are tied at +350 to lead the series in goals, despite Thompson (40) scoring 11 more goals than Pasta (29) this season.
Boston Bruins
The B’s come into the series going 5-3-2 in their last 10, which included a five-game losing streak, before winning their final two games to secure the first wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference.
Jeremy Swayman ended the season with a 4-0 shutout win over the New Jersey Devils, snapping a four-game losing skid. The 27-year-old has started 18 playoff games in his career, posting a 9-10 record with an impressive .922 save percentage.
David Pastrnak’s 90 playoff games are second only to team captain Charlie McAvoy (91), but he does lead the team in career playoff points (90). He put up 100 points for the fourth season in a row, despite playing only 77 games. He took a pass-first approach this season, posting a career high 77 assists, and his 29 goals were the lowest since the shortened 2020-21 season.
The Bruins lost in the Cup final back in 2019, and since then have never gotten past the second round, including two first-round exits.
Buffalo Sabres
After winning four straight games, the Sabres dropped their regular-season finale 4-3 in a shootout to the Dallas Stars on Wednesday.
The Sabres are the favourite coming into this series despite no one on their roster having much, if any, playoff experience. Alex Tuch leads the team in playoff games at 66, all of which came with the Vegas Golden Knights. They have two Stanley Cup champions in Luke Schenn (Twice with the Lightning) and Tanner Pearson (2014 Kings), but both players are 33 or older. The flip side of the coin, Sabres fans are going to see what their core is made of when it comes to games that actually matter. They have proven this season that they are not easy to push around, but captain Rasmus Dahlin and superstar Tage Thompson will have to step up, making their long-awaited playoff debuts on Sunday.
Goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen will also see playoff hockey for the first time after a career-best season. His 22-9-3 record helped get the Sabres to the postseason for the first time since 2011, and he will be relied on heavily with backup goalie Alex Lyon unavailable.
With the pressure of a playoff-deprived city in Buffalo, is it a blessing or a curse? Home ice advantage will also put extra weight on the team’s shoulders.
