The Buffalo Sabres (-165) will be looking to extend their winning streak when they travel to face the stumbling Columbus Blue Jackets (+140) at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday.
The total is 6.5 (O: -110, U: -110)Buffalo (16-14-2) is playing their last of four games on the road coming off a 3-2 win over the Golden Knights on December 19, their fourth win in a row.
Lawrence Pilut, Jeff Skinner, and Tage Thompson scored one apiece for the Sabres. Pilut added an assist to lead the team in scoring. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen had a great performance with 41 saves (.953%) in the win.
Columbus (10-21-2) dropped their sixth in a row, falling 5-2 to the Blackhawks on Friday. Marcus Bjork and Kirill Marchenko each scored once for the Blue Jackets. Bjork added an assist to share the scoring lead with Jack Roslovic, who had two assists. Daniil Tarasov only had 16 saves on 20 shots (.800%) after starting in the loss.
HEAD TO HEAD
The Sabres won the first meeting between the teams this season, a 9-4 victory on December 7. Thompson led Buffalo with six points (5G 1A). Patrik Laine and Gustav Nyquist each had two goals to lead Columbus. Luukkonen got the win despite saving only 20 of 24 shots (.833%).
FACING OFF
Buffalo is averaging 3.94 goals per game for the season, best in the NHL. The visitors will look to take advantage of a Blue Jackets team that is allowing 4.06 goals a game (31st).
Meanwhile, Columbus has found the net 2.70 times a game on average, 26th in the league, and the Sabres are allowing opponents to score 3.41 goals per game (22nd).
The Sabres’ 29.75% power play percentage is the second-best in the league, while the Blue Jackets rank 29th with a conversion rate of only 15.91%. When it comes to penalty killing, Columbus has the league’s 17th-ranked PK% at 77.88%, while Buffalo is 25th at 73.39%.
TOP PERFORMERS:
With 50 points this season, third-most in the NHL, Thompson is the top skater for the Sabres. He is among the league leaders with 26 goals (2nd) and has added 24 assists. In the net, Craig Anderson (7-4-1) is Buffalo’s top goaltender by goals against average.
He has a 2.65 GAA and a .922% save percentage.Johnny Gaudreau leads the Blue Jackets in scoring with 34 points. He has 10 goals and 24 assists.
Joonas Korpisalo (4-5-1) has the best goals against average for Columbus at 3.43. He has a save percentage of .905%. Elvis Merzlikins (4-8-0) has played the most games in net for the Blue Jackets this season. He has a 4.68 GAA and a .864% save percentage.
HOME AND AWAY
Buffalo is looking for a fourth successive win away from home this season. Columbus is 8-11-1 at Nationwide Arena this season.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
Columbus Blue Jackets (+145)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
