Stars’ Jake Oettinger and Sabres’ Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen both look primed for goalie duel in Buffalo
The Stars travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres, who they’ve beaten in 11 of their last 15 matchups including a destructive 10-4 win in their last meeting in March of 2023. Dallas has been on a roll as of late with three straight wins and a 14-5-4 record with a top five defense on the road this season.
This should prove to be difficult for a Sabres team that averages the eighth-fewest goals per home game with a 2.75 average along with a losing record of 11-12-1 on the season.
All signs may point to the Stars but the Sabres have life when 24-year-old Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is between the pipes as the young netminder has the second-best save percentage of .940 and goals against average of 1.57 over his last nine starts that only trails behind the Oilers’ Stuart Skinner.
Luukkonen should give his squad life as they’ve won six of his last nine starts and should make this an exciting matchup. If you want some added incentive to watch this game besides Luukkonen’s stellar play, here is our best bet for the game that should help you steal a win from the sportsbooks.
All betting lines are from Bet365 and are subject to change. Please gamble responsibly
Pick: Under 6.5 goals (-115)
The Finnish netminder has been great and his recent stretch of games will make people believe it is only due to the teams he played like having stellar performances against the Sharks, Ducks and shutting out the Blackhawks. He has proven he can beat good teams as he held the seventh-best offense in the Lightning to two goals and the league’s best offense in the Canucks to just one goal. In both games, his offense couldn’t find the back of the net as they’ve struggled to score all season.
Luukkonen should help keep them in this game and keep it low scoring but it’s likely the Sabres get a few past Stars starter Jake Oettinger, who enters with three straight wins but has a 3.80 goals against average over his last ten starts. He has been forced to do a lot since returning from injury with his defense not doing much to help him as he is averaging 27.5 saves a game and has helped them win five of his last seven starts. Both goalies should play for their team and help this game remain low-scoring.