Two teams fighting an uphill battle to make the playoffs meet on Tuesday night, as the Philadelphia Flyers visit the Buffalo Sabres on NBCSN. The Flyers are three points out of the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, while the Sabres are five points out. This is simply a must-win game for Buffalo if they hope to make any kind of late push for a playoff spot. These teams have met twice this season with each team winning at home, as the Flyers won 4-3 in October, while the Sabres won 4-1 in January.
This war on the ice will go down Tuesday, March 7, 2017 at 7 p.m. ET at the KeyBank Center. The game will be televised live on NBCSN.
We'll have NHL odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NHL Tuesday schedule.
Odds Analysis
The Flyers will have the edge in rest, as they have not played since Saturday, losing 2-1 in overtime to Washington. The Flyers are 11-20 on the road with 15 games going over the total, 14 going under with two pushes.
The Sabres are coming off a game at Pittsburgh on Sunday. The Sabres are 16-17 at home with 12 games going over, 18 going under with three pushes. Buffalo is scoring 2.5 goals per game and giving up 2.8 per contest.
Special Teams
The Flyers are 11th in the league on the power play at 20.8% but they are just 23rd in goals per game at 2.5 per contest. The numbers are similar in penalty killing, as the Flyers are 12th in penalty killing at 81.4% but they give up 2.9 goals per game, which is 24th in the league. The Flyers have struggled of late on the power play, as they were 0-for-6 against the Capitals.
The Sabres are first in the league on the power play at 23% but they only score 2.5 goals per game, which is 21st in the league. Buffalo has not been good in penalty killing, as they are 29th in the league at 76.3%. The Sabres allow 2.8 goals per game, which is 16th in the NHL.
The Sabres have been getting excellent play of late from Jack Eichel who has 26 points in his last 23 games. “I play on a really good power play, so I get a chance every night to get a point,” Eichel said recently. “I’m just trying to use my speed, play a little more tenacious. Just get around the puck more and good things happen.”
The bad news for Buffalo is that Kyle Okposo is out of the lineup. He will miss at least the next few games. “He’s week-to-week at this point in time,” coach Dan Bylsma said, “I hope that can be re-evaluated and get a better result after we go through seven to 10 days.” Okposo has 19 goals and 24 assists in 63 games.
Goalie Report
The Flyers get a lot of grief about their goaltending, but Steve Mason and Michal Neuvirth haven’t been that bad. Mason is 18-24 with a 2.75 goals against average, while Neuvirth is 10-10 with a 2.90 goals against average.
The Sabres have gotten pretty good goaltending from Robin Lehner and Anders Nilsson. Lehner is 18-26 with a 2.59 goals against average, while Nilsson is 9-12 with a 2.69 goals against average.
Free NHL Picks
The Flyers have won six of the last ten in this series with three of the last five going over the total. The Flyers have also taken six of the last ten in Buffalo, although they have lost the last two. The last three in Buffalo have gone under the total.
I have no faith at all in the Flyers, but Buffalo hasn’t been that good at home. I will avoid a side and just take the game under the total.
NHL Odds: Sabres 3, Flyers 2
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