Buffalo Sabres vs New York Rangers – Breakdown and Prediction

Buffalo Sabres vs New York Rangers: Both teams are coming off a win

The New York Rangers are hosting the Buffalo Sabres today at Madison Square Garden.

Can the Sabres make a step forward this season?

The Buffalo Sabres are 14th in the Eastern Conference with a 5-7-1 record, including 1-3-1 on the road. They are coming off a 5-1 win over the Ottawa Senators that ended their three-game losing streak. The Sabres are 15th in the league scoring 3.15 goals per game and are ranked 23rd allowing 3.31. Tage Thompson leads the team with 15 points so far in the season.

The Rangers are going for the top of the East

The New York Rangers are fourth in the Eastern Conference with an 8-2-1 record, including 4-1-0 on the road. They have won 3 of the last 4 games and are coming off a 5-2 win over the New York Islanders. The Rangers are the best defensive team in the league allowing 2.18 goals per game and rank fifth averaging 4 goals per game. Artemi Panarin is the best player on the team with 18 points so far in the season.

Betting Trends

The Rangers are 7-2 SU in their last 9 games overall, 11-3 SU in their last 14 home games against Buffalo and 5-1 SU in their last 6 games against teams from the Atlantic Divison. New York has played under the total goal line in 12 of their last 18 games against the Sabres, 8 of their last 10 games at home and 5 of their last 7 games played on Thursday. The Sabres are 4-12 SU in their last 16 games against the Rangers, and 1-4 SU in their last 5 games on the road. Buffalo has played over the total goal line in 6 of their last 8 games against teams from the Eastern Conference and under in 6 of their last 9 games played on Thursday.

Prediction and Conclusion

There has been a huge gap between these two teams for years now, and the Rangers are major favorites going into this one. Still, we have to note that the Sabres won 3 of the last 5 games in the head-to-head series, and 5 of the last 7 went to overtime. Of course, local rivalries often prove the stats wrong, and this game may fit that description. Having that in mind, we will pass on the Rangers win tonight and go with under 6.5 goals in total as five of the last six games between the two teams finished under the total goal line.