NHL Best Bets: Sabres vs. Flyers Game Picks

The Philadelphia Flyers are trying to snap their most recent losing skid at home tonight when they play host to the struggling Buffalo Sabres.

All Odds Courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

After making a nice run to begin the second half of the NHL season, the Buffalo Sabres have fallen off and don’t appear to be heading back to the postseason. Still, it’s a young core, and this is a learning experience for them, much like the Flyers looking to rebuild. There’s nothing worse than being stuck in no man’s land in the NHL, and that’s exactly where Philly is, which means changes will undoubtedly be in order in the offseason under new management. 

The Sabres are listed as the road favorite tonight on the moneyline at -146, while the Flyers are priced at +122. This will be the second of three meetings between these clubs, which already saw the Flyers shutout the Sabres 4-0 on January 9. 

In tonight’s projected goalie matchup, the visiting Sabres are expected to start Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, while the Flyers should be countering with Carter Hart. The Sabres young netminder has posted a 15-10-4 record, paired with a .895 save percentage, while Hart is sitting at 17-21-10, along with a .906 save percentage. Considering what Hart has in front of him and the lack of talent, he should boast a nice edge for Philadelphia in net tonight. 

The Sabres still have an insanely small crack to pounce in the Eastern Conference, but it’s not hard to see them overlooking the Flyers tonight on the road. With Philadelphia already handling the Sabres earlier this year, targeting the Flyers to do so again on the moneyline at home is the direction bettors should take. 

Best Bet: Flyers moneyline (+122)

The earlier matchup saw just four goals scored, and the Sabres got shutout, which is strange when you factor in that Buffalo’s the NHL’s third-highest scoring offense. The Flyers’ underlying numbers aren’t very strong, but they’ll be going up against a Buffalo team who also sits 26th in the league in goals allowed per game. Over the Sabres past five games, they’ve seen seven or more goals scored three times while the Flyers have seen that transpire twice. With neither team being great at keeping pucks out of their net, look for this matchup to be of the higher-scoring variety tonight. 

Best Bet: Over 6.5 (-112) 

There isn’t a lot of high-end talent on this Flyers team at the moment, but there’s still some value on their side of the equation which warrants targeting. Playing in a matchup against a struggling Sabres team should create a positive atmosphere for a player that can move the needle like Scott Laughton. He’s a leader for this young Flyers team and has compiled 36 points in 63 games. Those numbers don’t jump off the page, but Laughton is being counted on in more of an offensive role, meaning targeting him to light the lamp tonight at +280 has value. 

Best Prop: Scott Laughton to Record Over 0.5 Goals (+280)

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