The Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres meet Wednesday in NHL action at the KeyBank Center. The Pittsburgh Penguins look to snap a 5-game losing streak. The Buffalo Sabres look for a win after winning 5 of their last 7 games.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are averaging 3.7 goals per game and are scoring on 20.5 percent of their power play opportunities. Evgeni Malkin leads Pittsburgh with 4 goals, Sidney Crosby has 7 assists, and Rickard Rakell has 26 shots on goal. Defensively, the Pittsburgh Penguins are allowing 3.5 goals per game and are killing 70.6 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Tristan Jarry has allowed 18 goals on 211 shots faced, and Casey DeSmith has given up 7 goals on 75 shots.
The Buffalo Sabres are averaging 4.11 goals per game and are scoring on 23.5 percent of their power play opportunities. Alex Tuch leads Buffalo with 6 goals, Rasmussen Dahlin has 6 assists and Tage Thompson has 39 shots on goal. Defensively, the Buffalo Sabres are allowing 2.78 goals per game and are killing 79.3 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Eric Comrie has given up 20 goals on 204 shots faced, and Craig Anderson has given up 5 goals on 92 shots.
The Penguins are 3-13 in their last 16 road games and 1-5 in their last 6 games playing on 0 days rest. The Sabres are 6-2 in their last 8 home games and 11-4 in their last 15 overall. The over is 13-4 in Penguins last 17 overall. The under is 7-3-1 in Sabres last 11 overall. The Penguins are 20-7 in the last 27 meetings in Buffalo and 40-15 in the last 55 meetings. The favorite is 35-17 in the last 52 meetings. The home team is 5-1 in the last 6 meetings.
I’m not sure what the Pittsburgh Penguins have done during this losing stretch to deserve to be a road favorite, but I’m not buying it. The Penguins defense has taken a step back, and now they’re on the end of a back to back with a game that included overtime. Possible tired legs. Also, the Buffalo Sabres are playing well in their own right and have the rest advantage. I’ll gladly give the Sabres a look here with the plus money.