The Buffalo Sabres (2-1-0) travel to face the Calgary Flames (3-0-0), who will be seeking to prolong their undefeated start, at Scotiabank Saddledome on Thursday. Buffalo is coming off a 4-2 win over the Oilers on Tuesday. The Sabres committed five penalties in the game, though they held Edmonton without a power play goal. Four players found the net for the Sabres. Eric Comrie saved an impressive 46 of 48 shots (.958%) in the win. Calgary won for the third straight game, beating the Golden Knights 3-2 on Tuesday. Mikael Backlund, Elias Lindholm, and Tyler Toffoli scored one apiece for the Flames. Jonathan Huberdeau had two assists to lead the team in scoring. Jacob Markstrom surrendered two goals on 21 shots (.904%).
HEAD TO HEAD
The teams split their two meetings last season, the last of which was a 1-0 (OT) victory for the Sabres in March. Tage Thompson scored Buffalo’s only goal. Dustin Tokarski saved 24 shots to earn the shutout win.
FACING OFF
Buffalo is averaging 3.67 goals per game so far this season, 12th in the NHL, and they are taking on a Flames team that is allowing 2.67 goals a game (11th). Meanwhile, Calgary has found the net 4.00 times a game on average, eighth in the league, and the Sabres are allowing opponents to score 2.33 goals per game (7th). Look for a few power play opportunities for the Flames, as the Sabres are averaging 5.67 penalties per game, fifth-most in the NHL. The visitors’ 11.33 penalty minutes a game ranks 14th-highest. The home team has been penalized 5.00 times a game (18th) for an average of 10.00 minutes (16th).The Flames’ 33.33% power play percentage is the fifth-best in the league, while the Sabres rank 28th with a conversion rate of just 8.33%. In terms of defending power plays, Buffalo has the league’s 11th-ranked PK% at 84.62%, while Calgary is 12th at 83.33%.
TOP PERFORMERS:
With four points so far this season, Rasmus Dahlin is the top skater for the Sabres. He has three goals and one assist in three games. In the net, Craig Anderson (1-0-0) is Buffalo’s top goaltender by goals against average. He has a 1.00 GAA, best in the league, and a .972% save percentage, second-best. Comrie (1-1-0) leads the Sabres in games played in goal. He has a GAA of 3.00 and a save percentage of .929%. Nazem Kadri leads the Flames in scoring with four points. He has one goal and three assists in three games. Markstrom (2-0-0) has the best goals against average for Calgary at 2.50. He has a save percentage of .891%.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
Calgary Flames (-275)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
