Boston’s Pavel Zacha has six goals and 13 points in his last 12 games as he looks to score against Tampa team bleeding goals
Wednesday has a pair of exciting matchups for hockey fans with Ottawa travelling to Buffalo to take on the Sabres who are red hot as they hunt down a playoff spot while the Bruins play their second leg of a tough back-to-back as they take on the Lightning.
The Bruins battled the Panthers to a stunning 4-3 win on Tuesday in one of the most exciting games of the week so far. Buffalo and Ottawa are both coming in on two days rest as they haven’t played since Sunday and should make for a thrilling matchup.
It’ll be an exciting hump day and with fewer games to bet on, you’ll want to be sure of your picks for this evening. Lucky for you, we are 4-2 in our last six picks as we look to get hot to end of the week.
All betting lines are from Bet365 and are subject to change. Hockey is a difficult sport to predict so please gamble responsibly.
Bet: Sabres ML (-140)
The Senators are coming off a surprising win over the Oilers Sunday and will look to get past the Sabres who they’ve split their last six matchups against. Ottawa has had a troubling time on the road this season with a 11-20-2 record that ranks third-worst in the league.
They have been an underrated team on the offensive end for most of this season but the key piece keeping the team away from being elite is their backend that allows 3.56 goals per game this season which is fourth-worst in the league.
Buffalo is firing on all cylinders as they find themselves back in the playoff race with a 12-10-1 record since that All-Star break that has seen them perform better than the three teams ahead of them in the standings in the Red Wings, Islanders and Devils on a point percentage basis.
The pick has to be Buffalo as they are playing better recently with a better offense with a 2.95 goals per game average that trumps Ottawa’s 2.57 rate since mid-February.
They’ve also seen great play on the backend thanks to breakout star Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who has helped his team secure a 2.80 goals against average over their last 20 games which is seventh-best in the league during that span.
Better offensive and defensive play coupled with home ice advantage and playoff aspirations make Buffalo a solid play but in a likely high-scoring game.
Bet: Over 5.5 goals (-140), Pavel Zacha Over 0.5 points (-120)
The Bruins and Lightning have looked identical to each other as of late with both teams earning ten wins and five losses since mid-February with the Bruins having three more extra time points.
The Lightning have been a better offensive team during that span with a 3.76 goals per game average that ranks top five in the league and blows past the Bruins who sit outside the top 12 with a 3.20 average.
We can expect a shootout as both teams have lacked defense as of late with the Bruins at 15th in goals allowed per game at 3.04 and the Lightning all the way down at 22nd with regular starter Andrei Vasilevskiy having a rough season with a 7-5-2 record and a goals against average of 3.32 over his last 14 starts.
Both teams should get their offense rolling in a marquee matchup that any hockey fan should watch. If you want a player to look out for Boston’s Pavel Zacha is the man.
The Czech centre has found a home on David Pastrnak’s line and has benefited greatly from it with six goals and 13 points over his last 12 games. He is just one point behind Pastrnak during that span and the two should combine for at least one goal tonight.