The Buffalo Sabres and Carolina Hurricanes are rolling right now. Both teams enter this game on three-game winning streaks, but Carolina will be playing its second game of a back-to-back. It played a tough game in Tampa Bay last night, but completely dominated against the Lightning and won the game 4-3 in a shootout.
Buffalo had a day of rest after completing a two-goal comeback against the Pittsburgh Penguins at home on Wednesday night, winning by the score of 6-3. Tage Thompson has been on a tear, scoring six goals and tallying five assists in his last three games.
Thompson has his team rolling right now and it may be in a great spot for an upset as NHL odds has it pegged as underdogs. Find out more in our NHL betting picks and predictions for Saves vs. Hurricanes.
Sabres vs Hurricanes best odds
Sabres vs Hurricanes picks and predictions
In order for the Sabres to be successful, they need their best players to step and bring consistent scoring, and they couldn’t have asked for a better start.
Tage Thompson is leading the way with seven goals and seven assists, Rasmus Dahlin is finally starting to put his game together at this level with six goals of his own and eight assists, Alex Tuch is loving playing for his hometown team, and Jeff Skinner is contributing as well. I would actually argue that Buffalo’s best players are more talented than Carolina’s best players.
The Hurricanes have been playing well as of late, but this winning streak hasn’t been easy for them. All three of their wins have come in either overtime or a shootout, so this streak hasn’t necessarily been convincing.
Frederik Andersen has started the previous two games for the ‘Canes and since tonight is the latter half of a back-to-back, it is assumed that Antti Raanta will be in the blue paint tonight. He is off to a solid start this season, boasting a 2-0-1 record with a .913 SV% and a 2.23 GAA.
Eric Comrie has also started in his team's previous two games, but with the day of rest, the Sabres should be going back to the guy with the hot hand. Comrie is sporting a 4-3-0 record with a .898 SV% and a 3.29 GAA.
This game isn’t necessarily about the goalies, but more or so about which team’s best players show up. Buffalo enters the game as the second-best offensive team in the league, averaging 4.30 goals per game. As of late, the Sabres' top guys have looked unstoppable, so I am hopping on the Buffalo wagon once again.
My best bet: Sabres moneyline (+165 at BetMGM)
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Sabres vs Hurricanes moneyline analysis
The Buffalo Sabres are firing on all cylinders right now. They’re scoring goals at 5-on-5, on the power play, getting strong goaltending, anything, you name it. They enter the game with the second most goals above expected at 5-on-5 and in all situations and their power play is clicking at 23.7%. They might actually be a wagon.
The Hurricanes have been good, don’t get me wrong, but they are stronger on the defensive end than they are on the offensive side. Their power play is two for its last 16 and they aren’t as strong as Buffalo in 5-on-5 play — currently skating to a -2.51 goals for above expected.
Playing on the road doesn’t scare the Sabres. They are sporting a record of 3-1-0 as the away team so the home-ice factor isn’t much of an advantage for Carolina.
I really love the way Buffalo has been playing and I think the value here is too good to pass up.
Sabres vs Hurricanes Over/Under analysis
Between both these teams in their last six games, the Over has hit in five of those six. The Sabres and Hurricanes have been playing in high-scoring contests and I can see that happening once again tonight.
The Hurricanes enter the game scoring 3.10 goals per game with a 58.43% expected goals. They have some very talented players offensively that are going to need to crank it up a notch to compete with Buffalo. The Sabres, like I previously mentioned, have been lights out offensively — scoring 18 goals in their last three games — but they enter this game with a 52.81% expected goals.
The starting goaltenders on either side aren’t necessarily scary. Comrie has been decent and Raanta isn’t going to steal a game. This contest should be wide open with a ton of scoring.
Sabres vs Hurricanes betting trend to know
The Sabres are 4-1 in their last five games following a win. Find more NHL betting trends for Sabres vs Hurricanes.
Sabres vs Hurricanes game info
| Location: | PNC Arena, Raleigh, NC |
| Date: | Friday, November 4, 2022 |
| Puck drop: | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| TV: | ESPN+ |
