Two teams squaring off for the first time this season, the Montreal Canadiens and the Buffalo Sabres clash at the KeyBank Center in a divisional tilt. The Sports Network will showcase the game, which gets going at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, October 25.
Montreal Canadiens at Buffalo Sabres Odds
Buffalo enters the matchup as the favorite with a moneyline of -125. The line for Montreal sits at +105, and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals (-115 for the over, -105 for the under).
Buffalo is 5-4 straight up (SU) and has netted moneyline bettors 2.6 units this year. That early-season winning percentage is a welcomed turnaround from what the team managed during the 2017-18 season (25-57). Through nine regular season outings, five of the team’s games have gone over the total, while four have gone under and none have pushed. The team is 2-2 SU at home this year.
The Sabres have successfully connected on 17.6 percent of their power play chances thus far. That mark hasn’t moved a lot from last season, when they were ranked 20th in the league by scoring on 19.1 percent of their extra-man chances. Their penalty kill has fallen off noticeably year-over-year as they’ve gone from successfully defending 77.9 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked 22nd overall last season) to 71.4 percent this year.
As a team, the Sabres have been penalized 4.1 times per game this season, a number that is up some from the 3.4 penalties per game they gave up last year. After serving an average of 8.2 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team has been forced to kill penalties for 10.0 minutes per outing this year.
With a .909 save percentage and 29.9 saves per game, Carter Hutton (three wins, four losses) has been the primary option in goal for the Sabres this year. If the Sabres choose to rest him, however, Buffalo could roll with the undefeated Linus Ullmark (2-0 record, .982 save percentage, 0.50 goals against average).
The Sabres will continue to look for leadership out of Jack Eichel and Jeff Skinner. Eichel (nine points) has tallied three goals and six assists while Skinner has five goals and two assists to his credit so far in the season’s early stages.
On the visitors’ side of the ice, Montreal is 5-3 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 3.4 units this season. A total of four of its matches have gone under the total, while three have gone over and just one has pushed. As the visiting team so far, the Canadiens are 1-2 SU.
The Habs have scored on 20.6 percent of their power play chances this year after successfully converting on 21.3 percent of their extra-man opportunities in 2017-18 (which ranked them ninth league-wide in that category). The team has gone from killing off 74.1 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked 30th overall last season) to 77.8 percent this year.
Montreal’s players have been penalized 3.9 times per game this season, a number that’s pretty close to the 3.8 penalties per game given up last year. After serving an average of 8.6 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team has been forced to stave off opponent power plays for 9.5 minutes per matchup this year.
Carey Price (24.0 saves per game) has been the primary choice in the net for Montreal. Price owns a 3-3-2 record, and has registered a .906 save percentage and 2.48 goals against average this year.
For the visiting Canadiens, the offense will be coordinated by Jeff Petry (one goal, seven assists) and Max Domi (two goals, six assists).
Montreal Canadiens at Buffalo Sabres Free Picks
Free Pick: SU Winner – Canadiens, O/U – Over
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Notes
Betting Trends
The Canadiens are 1-2 SU when they serve more penalty minutes than their opponent while the Sabres are 1-1 SU in games where they serve more minutes than the opposition.
After posting a 2-6 record in games decided by a shootout last year, Montreal is off to a 1-0 start in shootouts this season. Buffalo was 1-2 in shootouts last year and has yet to participate in one this time around.
The total has gone over in three of Buffalo’s last five outings.
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