Neither the New York Rangers or Buffalo Sabres are likely to make the Eastern Conference playoffs again this season – the Rangers definitely aren’t – but the winner Friday can at least claim season superiority over the other. MyBookie Sportsbook sets Buffalo as the NHL betting favorites for this one.
How to Bet Rangers at Sabres NHL Hockey Odds & TV Info
“I loved our energy today. I loved our mood today. Loved our work ethic balanced with having fun. Probably as energetic of a practice as we’ve had in a long time.”
Coach Quinn’s thoughts as #NYR hits the road for Buffalo. pic.twitter.com/m1ZnnDunOP — New York Rangers (@NYRangers) 14 de febrero de 2019
- When: Friday, 7 PM ET
- Where: KeyBank Center
- TV: NHL Center Ice
- Live Stream: NHL.tv
- NHL Odds: Buffalo Sabres -160 / New York Rangers +135 (Total 6)
Season Series
Tied 1-1 and this is final meeting. On Oct. 6 in Buffalo, the Sabres won 3-1. Conor Sheary scored two goals and Carter Hutton made 43 saves. Captain Jack Eichel added an empty-net goal in the final seconds and had an assist for the Sabres. Henrik Lundqvist made 26 saves for New York. The Rangers outshot the Sabres in all three periods and finished with a 44-29 advantage in shots on goal.
On Nov. 4 at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers prevailed 3-1. Lundqvist stopped 39 shots and Jimmy Vesey scored twice. Neal Pionk also scored for New York. The Rangers made the most of their first two shots in the middle period, scoring twice within 19 seconds. Sheary scored for Buffalo and Hutton made 19 saves.
Why Bet on NY Rangers?
The New York Rangers come off a 4-3 loss at Winnipeg on Tuesday to start a four-game trip – the Rangers have one of the worst road records in the league. The game was tied 2-2 heading into the third period before Mike Zibanejad’s second goal of the game at 57 seconds. Winnipeg responded with goals from Joe Morrow and Andrew Copp 1:58 apart to take a 4-3 lead.
As noted, Zibanejad scored two more goals in the loss. Zibanejad has been on a tear of late in posting 13 goals with eight assists across the past 13 outings. He already has a career-best 31 assists and 56 points, and he is just two goals short of tying a best in that department, too. He also has nine power-play goals and 20 points, just one short of a new best in production on the man advantage.
Mats Zuccarello went for two assists, a blocked shot, and a hit. Zuccarello has been on fire lately as well, posting five goals and 14 assists over the past 12 contests. The Norwegian winger is on target for another 50-point season, and that would be six consecutive campaigns with at least 49 points. Since Jan. 15, Zibanejad leads the NHL in goals and is tied for the NHL lead in points, and Zuccarello is tied for the NHL lead in assists.
Henrik Lundqvist allowed four goals on 36 shots. He’s now 16-15-8 with a 3.02 GAA and .907 SV.
The Rangers have recorded at least three goals in nine of the last 12 games. Including team goals awarded for a shootout win, New York has notched three or more goals in 19 of the last 29 games and in 35 of 56 games this season. Seven of the Rangers’ last nine games and nine of their last 13 games have been decided by one goal. The Blueshirts have posted a 15-7-8 record in one-goal games in 2018-19 and are tied for second in the NHL in wins in one-goal games this season.
Team Stats
Offense- Goals: 2.84
- Shots: 28.59
- PP/PK Percentage: 21.52
Defense
- Goals: 3.32
- Shots: 33.00
- PP/PK Percentage: 22.28
Why Bet on Buffalo?
This closes a seven-game homestand for the Buffalo Sabres, which beat the Islanders 3-1 on Tuesday. Buffalo improved to 28-21-7 and picked up its 63rd point. That’s one more than last season when the Sabres became the NHL’s first franchise to finish 31st following the addition of expansion Vegas.
Linus Ullmark stopped 24 of 25 shots in the win. Ullmark was almost perfect, only getting undone by a terrible Rasmus Ristolainen turnover that put the Swedish netminder in a tough spot. The 25-year-old goaltender appears to have taken the starting gig away from Carter Hutton. Ullmark has now won back-to-back games, improving his record to 13-5-4 on the year with a 2.89 goals-against-average and a .913 save percentage.
Jeff Skinner scored a goal. Jack Eichel won a draw right to Skinner who beat Robin Lehner with a quick shot. The goal brings Skinner to 34 on the year, and he only trails Alexander Ovechkin (38) for the most in the NHL this season. Skinner now has six points (3+3) in six games during the Sabres’ current homestand.
Jason Pominville and Johan Larsson also scored for the Sabres in the win. Pominville scored his 24th game-winning goal as a member of the Sabres, tying Tim Connolly for 16th-most in franchise history. He now trails Phil Housley and Jim Lorentz by one for 14th-most.
Eichel recorded a pair of assists. He has a career-high 43 assists this campaign and he has surpassed the 60-point plateau for a second straight year. He now has eight points (2+6) during his current six-game point streak and 12 points (3+9) in his last 10 contests. Eichel now has 21 multi-point games this season, the highest total by a Sabre since Thomas Vanek (21) in 2010-11.
Team Stats
Offense- Goals: 2.95
- Shots: 32.45
- PP/PK Percentage: 18.07
Defense
- Goals: 3.05
- Shots: 32.48
- PP/PK Percentage: 18.00
Rangers vs Sabres NHL Betting Trends
- Favorite is 20-7 in the last 27 meetings
- Under is 10-3 in the last 13 meetings in Buffalo
- Home team is 4-0 in the last 4 meetings
- NY is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
- NY is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 5 of NY Rangers’ last 7 games when playing Buffalo
- Buffalo is 7-3 ATS in its last 10 games
- Buffalo is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing NY Rangers
- The total has gone OVER in 6 of Buffalo’s last 9 games at home
Expert NHL Betting Prediction
The Sabres take season series with 3-2 win.
