In their last head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the St. Louis Blues and the Buffalo Sabres take the ice at the KeyBank Center in an East-West tilt. Fox Sports Midwest will broadcast the action, which gets underway at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, February 3.
St. Louis Blues vs. Buffalo Sabres Odds
St. Louis (+150) is entering this one as the underdog to St. Louis (-170) and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 5 goals (-130 to bet the over, +110 for the under).
St. Louis is 31-22 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 2.5 units this year. 33 of its contests have gone under the total, while 20 have gone over and none have pushed. This 2017-18 Blues team is 13-12 SU on the road.
St. Louis has converted on just 16.4 percent of its power play chances this year, a figure that’s ranked 26th in the NHL. Its penalty kill is ranked 15th overall, and it has successfully killed off 81.4 percent of all penalties.
For the team as a whole, St. Louis has been penalized just 3.4 times per game during the 2017-18 season, and 2.6 per game over its past five matchups. The team has been forced to kill penalties just 8.1 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Averaging 26.3 saves per game with a .911 save percentage, Jake Allen (18-19-2) has been the primary option in goal for St. Louis this year. If it chooses to give him a rest, however, head coach Mike Yeo might turn to Carter Hutton (14-8-1), who has a .945 save percentage and 1.70 goals against average this year.
Brayden Schenn and Vladimir Tarasenko will both lead the way for the visiting Blues. Schenn (51 points) is up to 21 goals and 30 assists, and has recorded two or more points in 12 different games. Tarasenko has 21 goals and 26 assists to his name (and has logged at least one point in 30 games).
On the other bench, Buffalo is 14-37 straight up (SU) and has lost 19.8 units for moneyline bettors thus far. Through 51 regular season contests, 27 of its games have gone under the total, while 21 have gone over and just three have pushed. This season, the team’s 6-17 SU as the home team.
Buffalo has converted on just 16.6 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a mark that’s ranked 25th in the NHL. Its penalty kill is also ranked 25th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 78.3 percent of all opponent power plays.
Buffalo players have been penalized 3.6 times per game in total this season, 4.0 per game over their past five match ups total, and 4.2 per game over their last five home outings. The team’s had to kill penalties a whopping 13.6 minutes per game over their last five outings.
Robin Lehner has stopped 26.6 shots per game as the top option in goal for Buffalo. Lehner has 11 wins, 27 losses, and six overtime losses and has recorded a .912 save percentage and 2.85 goals against average this year.
Jack Eichel (20 goals, 29 assists) will lead the offensive counter for the Sabres.
St. Louis Blues vs. Buffalo Sabres Betting Predictions
Pick: SU Winner – Sabres, O/U – Over
Notes
Betting Notes
The total has gone under in four of Buffalo’s last five outings.
Power plays and penalty kills may prove to be extremely important in this one. The Blues are 16-7 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 22-14 when they’re in the box for fewer than 10 penalty minutes, total. The Sabres are 5-13 when the team serves fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 11-26 in games where total penalty minutes are in the single digits.
Buffalo skaters have created 3.4 takeaways per game over its last five home games, a drop-off from its season average of 5.3 takeaways per game (ranked 31st in the NHL).
St. Louis is ranked 11th with 8.0 takeaways per game. That figure has trended upward, as the team has created 8.6 takeaways over its last 10 games and 10.0 takeaways over its last five.
St. Louis may hold an advantage if it’s a tight one late. The team’s 12-8 in one-goal games, while Buffalo is only 6-16 in such games.
