Buffalo Sabres vs. Calgary Flames Prediction, NHL Odds
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Jeremy Perry
The Buffalo Sabres are coming off a strong 4-2 win against the Edmonton Oilers and now they’re set to face another Alberta team on Thursday. The odds are indicating that they’ll pick up the win but they were also an underdog against Edmonton and surprised to the upside.
The Calgary Flames won their previous game as well, handing the Vegas Golden Knights their first loss of the year. The Flames now sit atop Pacific Division standings at 3-0-0.
NHL Betting Odds And Analysis
The Sabres are 4-1 in their last five games when going up against teams in the Pacific Division and 7-2 in their past nine games overall coming into this matchup. When it comes to the total, the under has gone 4-0-1 out of their past five games.
Flipping over to Calgary, they are winners of eight out of their last 11 against teams that are stationed in the Eastern Conference. They are also 27-11 in their last 38 home games, so the home ice has been a sizable advantage. As for this series, the Flames have won five out of their last seven meetings.
Buffalo Sabres
The Sabres have been surprisingly good to start this new season. They opened the year with a 4-1 home victory against the Ottawa Senators before losing to the Florida Panthers in the following matchup. Then, as mentioned, their most recent game was the upset win against the Oilers. Goaltender Eric Comrie posted a 46-save effort against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton offense, so they do have some confidence going right now.
It’s early days but Comrie has a .929 save percentage through two games. That’s pretty good given how this team has performed in net over the last five years or so. They’re at 2.33 goals per game allowed this year; they gave up 3.50 last season.
They are getting some strong help from the blue line as well as Rasmus Dahlin is shining. He already has three goals and an assist on the season, dropping two of them in the back of the net against the Oilers. We’ll see if this is a short-term blip for Buffalo or whether the team is actually starting to turn things around.
Calgary Flames
The Flames were able to knock off the Golden Knights in their latest outing, battling back from a two-goal deficit early on in the contest. During their comeback, they were able to fire off 40 shots compared to the Knights 21 down the stretch. The new additions to this roster clearly look like they’re fitting in nicely. Nazem Kadri has been one of their more productive offensive players with Jonathan Huberdeau right alongside him following a multi-assist game.
Jacob Markstrom has mostly picked up from where he left off last season, posting 19 saves against Vegas to move to 2-0-0 on the year. His previous win came against the Stanley Cup champions the Colorado Avalanche. Calgary is a complete team with talent all over the place that can help them win this game against Buffalo.
