Montreal Canadiens vs. Buffalo Sabres Prediction, NHL Odds
Fresh off an opening night loss, the Montreal Canadiens look to rebound as they visit last year’s worst team, the Buffalo Sabres.
These squads haven’t met since January 30th of 2020, when the Habs pulled out a 3-1 win over the Sabres in Buffalo. With the Atlantic Division back in 2021, these inter-divisional games grow even more important. The Canadiens are -138 favourites to win on the NHL odds with a total of 5.5.
Canadiens vs. Sabres NHL Odds
Despite losing on opening night, 86 per cent of bettors are still siding with the Canadiens tonight. In their past 10 matchups versus the Sabres, the Habs have taken the win six times. The total has gone under in six of those 10 meetings.
Seven games have been played so far this NHL season and the scores have been relatively high, with an average of 5.8 goals in each game. Bettors like that higher trend, with 70 per cent of Sports Interaction customers taking the over tonight.
Tonight’s starting goalies could both be making their debuts for their new club. Samuel Montembeault was picked up off waivers to serve as backup to Jake Allen while Carey Price is away from the team. He has started 25 NHL games, posting a 3.20 goals-against average.
Veteran Craig Anderson likely goes for the Sabres. The 40-year-old is a 20-year NHL vet, with a 2.84 GAA in 652 career games.
Montreal Canadiens
The Habs enjoyed a heartwarming story in yesterday’s loss to the Leafs, as Johnathan Drouin scored the first goal of the year for his squad. Drouin missed the end of last season and the team’s long playoff run with anxiety and insomnia. Critics were down his throat last year due to lack of scoring, so it’s nice to see him silence them early on.
Buffalo Sabres
Buffalo fans open the new season with hopes that the worst is behind them after setting an NHL-record with 18 straight defeats last season. Their ex-captain, Jack Eichel, has said his time in Buffalo is over, in part due to a dispute about a neck injury that limited him to 21 games last year. He is still officially on the roster though, as the divorce just seems to be getting uglier as time goes by.
The Sabres have a league-worst +26000 odds to win the Stanley Cup this year, as expectations are almost as low as they were last season.
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