Two of the NHL’s top offenses are set to face off at Amalie Arena on Thursday, as the Buffalo Sabres (28-23-4) travel to face the Tampa Bay Lightning (36-17-3).Buffalo is coming off a high-scoring 6-3 loss against the Maple Leafs on Tuesday.
The Sabres conceded a power play goal while failing to take advantage of their own limited power play opportunities. Alex Tuch, Jeff Skinner, and Jack Quinn scored one apiece for the Sabres. Tuch added an assist to lead the team in scoring.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen started in the loss and only had six saves on 10 shots against (.600%).Tampa Bay beat the Ducks 6-1 on Tuesday. Six players found the net for the Lightning. Nick Perbix had three assists to lead the team in scoring. Andrei Vasilevskiy was impressive in the win, making 24 saves (.960%).
HEAD TO HEAD
The Lightning have won both games between the teams this season, including a 6-5 (OT) victory in their most recent meeting in November, their fourth straight win against Buffalo.
Steven Stamkos (2G 1A), Mikhail Sergachev (0G 3A), and Nikita Kucherov (0G 3A) each had three points to lead Tampa Bay. Tage Thompson led Buffalo with two points (1G 1A). Brian Elliott got the win despite allowing five goals on 37 shots (.864%).
FACING OFF
Buffalo is averaging 3.69 goals per game for the season, third in the NHL, and they are taking on a Lightning team that is allowing 2.88 goals a game (12th).
Meanwhile, Tampa Bay has found the net 3.55 times a game on average, fourth in the league, and the Sabres are allowing opponents to score 3.49 goals per game (25th).
Don’t be surprised to see multiple power play opportunities for the Sabres, as the Lightning have been penalized 4.52 times a game, fifth-most in the NHL, for an average of 11.52 minutes (fifth-highest). The visitors are averaging 3.58 penalties (24th) and 7.78 penalty minutes a game (27th).
The Lightning will be seeking to add to their fourth-ranked power play percentage of 25.77% against the Sabres, who are the league’s third-weakest penalty killing team (72.67%).
Buffalo, meanwhile, has scored on 24.87% of their power play opportunities (6th), which the visitors will be aiming to improve on against Tampa Bay’s 12th-ranked 81.46% penalty killing rate.
TOP PERFORMERS:
With 72 points this season, seventh-most in the NHL, Thompson is the top skater for the Sabres. He is among the league leaders with 36 goals (3rd) and has added 36 assists. In the net, Craig Anderson (8-7-2) is Buffalo’s top goaltender by goals against average. He has a 2.86 GAA and a .914% save percentage.
Luukkonen (14-7-2) leads the Sabres in games played in goal. He has a GAA of 3.41 and a save percentage of .897%.Kucherov leads the Lightning in scoring with 80 points (3rd in the league).
He has 21 goals and 59 assists (2nd) in 56 games. Vasilevskiy (26-14-1) is the top goalie for Tampa Bay with a goals against average of 2.56. He has a save percentage of .918%.
HOME AND AWAY
Buffalo is 17-8-2 on the road this season. Tampa Bay is 22-4-2 at home this season.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
TB Lightning (-250)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
