Buffalo Sabres vs. Edmonton Oilers Prediction, NHL Odds
Buffalo’s on the second half of a back-to-back, losing 7-4 at Calgary last night. The Sabres are last in the Atlantic Division with an 11-4-4 record and are almost 10 points behind the final playoff spot in the East, not to mention the eight teams they must jump in the conference.
Two straight convincing wins has put the Oilers back into a Wild-Card spot in the West. After getting shutout last Tuesday versus Minnesota, Edmonton has rattled off 9-4 and 6-2 wins over Seattle and Winnipeg respectively. And just like that, the Oilers are back to being a top-10 scoring team in the NHL.
Puck drop at Rogers Place gets started at 9 p.m. EST with the Oilers coming in as a -220 moneyline favourite and the over-under at six on the NHL odds.
Sabres vs. Oilers NHL Betting Odds
The road isn’t where Buffalo thrives. The Sabres have a league-worst 2-9-2 road record this season and they’ve also dropped four of their last six visits to Edmonton. The Oilers are strong again at home as well with, going 7-3-2 on home ice so far this season.
Five of Edmonton’s last six home games have finished over the total, and Buffalo’s coming in having allowed at least four goals in three straight outings. The Oilers have scored 15 goals in their last two games. But the recent history between these clubs has trended opposite — six of the last seven Sabres–Oilers contests have finished under the total.
Buffalo Sabres
With Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen starting last night at Calgary, Alex Lyon was supposed to come into Edmonton fresh. But five goals allowed on 22 shots later called for Lyon to come in relief, making four saves in his spot appearance. Lyon should remain the starting goalie Tuesday at Edmonton, which gives the Sabres their best chance to win right now. With a .901 save percentage, Lyon is the only Buffalo goalie above the .900 mark despite his 3-6-3 record.
Tage Thompson broke a six-game goal-less slump last night, coming after a six-game scoring streak. Thompson’s 13 goals on the season leads the Sabres although Alex Tuch became the second Sabres skater to reach double-digit goals last night. But at the end of the day, none of this matters if Buffalo can’t shore up their defensive side of the game.
Edmonton Oilers
It was always a matter of time before Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl ascended up to the NHL’s top scorers and that time has come. McDavid’s now third in the league with 42 points and is riding a six-game point streak, three of which have been multi-point outings. Draisaitl’s just as hot, notching six points in Edmonton’s last two outings.
What’s most important though is Stuart Skinner is starting to find his game. Skinner has turned away 68 of 71 shots faced in his last three starts and is now up to an .889 save percentage this season. With Buffalo coming in on a back-to-back, Tuesday could be a good spot for Calvin Pickard to get a start. But at the same time, good goaltending is hard to come by in Edmonton this season so common logic might indicate to ride the hot hand in Skinner.
BUF
EDM