In their first head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Buffalo Sabres and the San Jose Sharks face off at the SAP Center for an East-versus-West tilt. The first puck will drop at 10:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, October 18, and you’ll be able to catch the game live on NBC Sports California.
Buffalo Sabres at San Jose Sharks Odds
Buffalo (+190) is entering this one as the underdog to San Jose (-230) and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals. The line for betting the total stands at -125 money on the over and +105 on the under.
Buffalo is 3-3 straight up (SU) and has netted moneyline bettors 0.7 units this season. That early-season SU winning percentage is a welcomed improvement over the 25-57 record from last year’s regular season campaign. Through six regular season contests, four of its games have gone under the total, while two have gone over. The Sabres are 1-1 SU on the road in 2018-19.
The Sabres have converted on 16.7 percent of their power play chances so far. That’s a noticeable drop-off from last season, when they were ranked 20th in the NHL by converting on 19.1 percent of their extra-man chances. Their penalty kill has fallen off drastically since last year, as they’ve gone from successfully defending 77.9 percent of all opponent power plays (ranked 22nd overall last season) to 75.0 percent this year.
For the team as a whole, the Sabres have been called for penalties 3.5 times per game during the 2018-19 season, a number that’s pretty close to last year’s 3.4 penalties per game. After serving an average of 8.2 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team’s had to stave off opponent power plays for 7.5 minutes per matchup this year.
Boasting a .909 save percentage and 29.8 saves per game, Carter Hutton (2-3) has been the best option in goal for Buffalo this season. If Buffalo chooses to rest him, however, the team may turn to Linus Ullmark (1-0 record, .1,000 save percentage, 0.00 goals against average).
Jack Eichel and Conor Sheary will both spearhead the attack for the visiting Sabres. Eichel (five points) is up to three goals and two assists this season; Sheary has three goals and one assist to his credit through the early phase of the regular season.
On the other side of the rink, San Jose is 2-4 straight up (SU) and has lost 4.3 units for moneyline bettors this year. Four of its contests have gone under the total, while two have gone over and none have pushed.
The Sharks have killed off an impressive 78.6 percent of all penalties, a few points lower than the 84.2 percent they posted a year ago (when they were ranked second in the NHL). They’ve scored on 9.5 percent of their power plays this year after converting on 21.1 percent (ranked 13th in league) last season.
Sharks players have been sent to the penalty box 4.7 times per game this season, a number that has climbed noticeably from the 3.4 penalties per game given up last year. After serving an average of 8.3 penalty minutes per game a year ago, the team’s had to stave off opponent power plays for 9.7 minutes per outing this season.
Martin Jones (22.0 saves per game) has been the primary option in goal for the Sharks. Jones has one win and three losses to his credit and has recorded a subpar .880 save percentage and 3.05 goals against average this year.
Evander Kane (four goals, one assist) and Kevin Labanc (one goals, four assists) will pace the offensive counter for the Sharks.
Buffalo Sabres vs. San Jose Sharks Free Picks
Pick: SU Winner – Sharks, O/U – Over
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Notes
Betting Notes
The under has hit in four of San Jose’s last five games.
Buffalo has managed 25.0 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while San Jose is averaging 33.0 shots per game over its last five home outings.
Buffalo skaters recorded 21.5 hits per game last season, while the Sharks logged 18.4 hits per contest.
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