NHL Best Bets: Stars vs. Sabres Game Picks

The Buffalo Sabres will try and continue their climb toward a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference when they host the Dallas Stars tonight.

All Odds Courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

Dallas has continued to sit comfortably in a playoff position in the Western Conference, while the Sabres have their work cut out for them in a crowded Eastern Conference at the playoff cut line. This will be the second meeting between these clubs, with the original matchup seeing the Sabres pick up a road 3-2 victory back in January. The Stars are currently listed as road favorites tonight on the moneyline, where they’re priced at -172, while the Sabres are sitting at +142. 

Neither team is playing particularly well at the moment, but there’s still some positivity heading into this game between two quality teams. The Stars have posted a 4-3-3 record over their past ten games, while the Sabres are sitting at a mediocre 5-5 after suffering two straight losses. Buffalo has more riding on this contest, but the Stars are still looking to hold down the Central division. 

Looking toward the projected goalie matchup tonight, the visiting Stars are expected to start Jake Oettinger, while the Sabres should be countering with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. The Stars netminder has posted a 26-9-10 record, paired with a .922 save percentage. Luukkonen is sitting at 15-10-2, along with a .894 save percentage. Dallas should have an edge in net, but the Sabres’ young goalie is no slouch either. 

The Stars haven’t brought a lot of consistency to the table lately, especially on the road. Buffalo needs this result much more than Dallas, and they should have the urgency to match that. As a result, we really like the value the Sabres are presenting at home in this matchup and will side with their moneyline price of +142. 

Best Bet: Sabres moneyline (+142) 

When these two clubs met earlier, they combined for five total goals. This is an interesting matchup when you consider how different these teams are on paper. The Sabres score at the third-highest clip in the NHL, while the Stars sit fourth in the league in goals allowed per game. Over the Stars’ past five games, they’ve seen seven or more goals scored in four of those contests, while the Sabres have seen that transpire in three. Even though the over didn’t hit in the first matchup, with the recent trends we’ve seen from these clubs, we’ll be riding in that direction here tonight. 

Best Bet: Over 6.5 (-115) 

When you have one of the deepest offenses in the NHL, there will be a lot of different value on the board to target in the goal-scoring department. One player on the Sabres that sticks out in this matchup is Tage Thompson. He hasn’t been tearing up the league lately, but he leads the club with two goals and two assists over their past five games and still manages to sit third in the league in goals with 42. Thompson will be relied upon heavily down the stretch to contribute offensively, and there’s definite value in backing his price to score tonight at +140. 

Best Prop: Tage Thompson to Record Over 0.5 Goals (+140) 

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