NHL BETTING PREVIEW: BUFFALO SABRES VS. PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

After a light Monday night in the NHL, tonight provides an abundance of betting action. With five games in the 7 pm ET window, the one we have our eye on is in Steel City. The Buffalo Sabres take on the Pittsburgh Penguins with some exciting bets to spice up your Tuesday evening.

Buffalo had gotten off to a hot start in the first few weeks of the season, winning five of their first seven. The Sabres have come crashing back to reality as the temperature outside drops, but they have a “get right” game Tuesday in Pittsburgh. 

Yes, you’re reading that last line correctly. The mighty Penguins have fallen a long way since their back-to-back Stanley Cup victories. Whether you blame that on injuries, a lack of awareness from the front office, or simply age, this Penguins team just isn’t that good anymore. 

Evan Rodrigues is the leading point-getter in Pittsburgh with just 11. That alone should say enough about the state of this Penguins team. In fairness, Sidney Crosby has only played two games this season, and Evgeni Malkin is likely to be out another month, if not more.

That doesn’t excuse that the Penguins have the worst powerplay in the NHL with an embarrassing 8.7% click rate. Pittsburgh gives up 32.5 shots a game, not to mention they have allowed 46 goals in just 14 games and 12 in their past two. 

The Penguins have been an excellent team to bet against lately, going just 2-8 against the puckline and 3-7 straight up. However, Pittsburgh has hit the over in five of their previous nine.

Flipping the script back to the Sabres, Buffalo has done a decent job putting pucks in the net this season, scoring just over 21% of the time when up a man this year. The Sabres are 8-2 in their past ten, hitting the over. 

While we didn’t discuss goaltending in-depth during this preview, the expected starters are Craig Anderson for the Sabres and Tristan Jarry for the Pens. While we think it will be close, we do expect the over to hit Tuesday night. 

THE PICKS: Sabres Moneyline (-128) | Total Goals: Over 6 (-110)