Canadian Tire Centre will be the site for a divisional matchup as the Ottawa Senators welcome the visiting Buffalo Sabres. The matchup gets underway at 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, November 1, and fans at home can catch the game live on Reseau Des Sports.
Buffalo Sabres at Ottawa Senators Odds
With a -130 moneyline, Buffalo comes into the game as the favorite. The line for Ottawa sits at +110 and the oddsmakers have put the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals (-110 for the over, -110 for the under).
Buffalo is 6-6 straight up (SU) and has netted 1.4 units for moneyline bettors this season. Through 12 regular season outings, seven of its games have gone over the total, while five have gone under and none have pushed. The Sabres are 3-3 SU as an away team in 2018-19.
Buffalo has scored on 20.0 percent of its power play opportunities so far. That mark hasn’t moved too much from last year, when it was ranked 20th in the NHL by scoring on 19.1 percent of its extra-man opportunities. Its penalty kill has gotten stronger, as the team has gone from successfully defending 77.9 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked 22nd overall last year) to 78.9 percent this year.
For the team as a whole, Buffalo has been sent to the penalty box 3.9 times per game this season, a number that is up a bit from the 3.4 penalties per game given up last year. After serving an average of 8.2 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team’s been forced to kill penalties for 9.2 minutes per outing this year.
With a .910 save percentage and 29.3 saves per game, Carter Hutton (4-5-1) has been the best option in goal for Buffalo this year. If it chooses to rest him, however, Buffalo might roll with Linus Ullmark (2-1-1 record, .935 save percentage, 2.00 goals against average).
Jeff Skinner and Jack Eichel will both lead the offensive attack for the visiting Sabres. Skinner has 12 points via six goals and six assists, and has recorded two or more points in four different games. Eichel has four goals and eight assists to his name (and has logged at least one point in six games).
Over on the other bench, Ottawa is 4-7 straight up (SU) and has lost 0.7 units for moneyline bettors thus far. Eight of its games have gone over the total, while two have gone under and just one has pushed. This year, the team’s 3-3 SU as the home team.
Ottawa has converted on 22.9 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 29th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 68.4 percent of all opponent power plays.
Ottawa players have been called for penalties 4.3 times per game this season, a number that’s climbed some from the 3.5 penalties per game given up last year. After serving an average of 8.1 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team’s been forced to kill penalties for 10.3 minutes per outing this year.
Craig Anderson has stopped 33.8 shots per game as the top choice in goal for Ottawa. Anderson has four wins, six losses, and two OT losses to his name and has recorded a subpar .909 save percentage and 3.47 goals against average this year.
The home team offense will be led by Thomas Chabot (three goals, 10 assists).
Buffalo Sabres at Ottawa Senators Betting Picks
NHL Prediction: SU Winner – Senators, O/U – Over
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Notes
Betting Notes
The total has gone over in four of Ottawa’s last five outings.
The Senators are 1-3 when the team serves fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 3-5 in games where they’re in the penalty box for fewer than 10 minutes, total.
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