Boston Bruins vs Buffalo Sabres Prediction, Preview and Odds - 04/28/2026

Game Time: 7:30 pm ET, Tuesday, April 28, 2026

Venue:  KeyBank Center, Buffalo, NY 

Where to Watch:  TNT, HBO Max, truTV

DraftKings:  Moneyline:  Bruins +142, Sabres -170; Over/Under:  5.5 goals

Bet365:  Moneyline:  Bruins +140, Sabres -170; Over/Under:  6 goals

BetMGM:  Moneyline:  Bruins +135, Sabres -165; Over/Under:  6 goals

Boston Bruins:  45-27-10 (4th place, Atlantic Division)

Buffalo Sabres:  50-23-9 (1st place, Atlantic Division)

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Boston Bruins:  3-5-2 last 10

Buffalo Sabres:  7-2-1 last 10

The Bruins are entering the playoffs with 100 points, a 45-27-10 record overall, and they were 16-16-9 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a loss against the Buffalo Sabres in their last game, losing that one at home 6-1. Sean Kuraly scored 1 goal for them in that one. Andrew Peeke and Mark Kastelic each led the team in assists with 1 while Hampus Lindholm led the team in shots on net in that game with 4. Jeremy Swayman was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 6 goals on 29 shots with 23 saves and a .793 save percentage before getting replaced by Joonas Korpisalo who stopped all 6 shots he faced. Their offense has scored 290 goals this season averaging 3.5 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 231 goals against them allowing 2.8 goals per game.

The Sabres are entering the playoffs with 109 points, a 50-23-9 record overall, and they were 26-10-5 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a win against the Boston Bruins in their last game, winning that one on the road 6-1. Alex Tuch, Bowen Byram, Josh Doan, Peyton Krebs, Beck Malenstyn, and Zach Benson each scored 1 goal for them in that one. Alex Tuch, Bowen Byram, Josh Doan, Peyton Krebs, Jack Quinn, Jordan Greenway, Owen Power, Ryan McLeod, Tage Thompson, and Tyson Kozak each led the team in assists with 1 while Alex Tuch led the team in shots on net in that game with 6. Alex Lyon was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 1 goal on 24 shots with 23 saves and a .958 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 288 goals this season averaging 3.5 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 241 goals against them allowing 2.9 goals per game.

The current betting odds have the Sabres listed as a favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Sabres have looked great in their games this season with their 50-23-9 record overall which had them right at the top of their division in the East with one of the best records in the entire NHL. They have looked great on home ice too with their 26-10-5 home record this season. Meanwhile, the Bruins have looked good in their games this season with their 45-27-10 record overall which had them in the top half of their division in the East. They have been a terrible road team though with their 16-16-9 road record this year. This is game 5 of a 7-game series between the 1st seeded Sabres in the Atlantic and the 1st Wild Card Bruins from the Atlantic for the 1st round of the NHL playoffs. The Sabres are entering this game with a 3-1 series lead after winning game 4 by a score of 6-1. The Sabres were one of the best teams in the East all season but they didn't get off to a great start in this series. They were completely outplayed in the first 2 home games of this series and even though they won game 1 with a late comeback, it felt like they had stolen that game. They got outplayed just as badly in game 2 and ended up losing that one, but they went on the road and really turned things around in this series. The Bruins have been one of the best home teams in the NHL this season, but the Sabres crushed them in both road games. The Sabres did make a goalie change which helped since the Bruins couldn't get anything going on offense in both home games. Now the Sabres have won 2 games in a row and they have all of the momentum in this series going back home with a chance to end things, and the Bruins have looked a lot worse in their road games this year with a losing record. The Bruins really needed to hold serve at home or at least win 1 of those games, but now the Sabres are starting to look like the team that won the division and the Bruins don't really stand a chance in this one after getting nothing going in the last 2. The best way to place a bet here is on the Sabres to win this game. 

Bruins Sabres Prediction:  Our NHL Pick for Tuesday, April 28, 2026 (7:30 pm ET start time) is Sabres 4 Bruins 1.

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Boston Bruins: 132-131 (-14.8 units) on the moneyline in all games. 20-32 (-7.3 units) on the moneyline when playing against a good team (Win Pct. 60% to 75%). 75-84 (-9.8 units) on the moneyline against explosive offensive teams - scoring 3+ goals/game. 32-20 OVER as an underdog of +100 to +200.

Buffalo Sabres: 71-53 (+13.1 units) on the moneyline in home games. 60-39 (+8.1 units) on the moneyline as a favorite of -200 or less. 75-77 (+12.6 units) on the moneyline against explosive offensive teams - scoring 3+ goals/game. 38-21 OVER as a home favorite of -200 or less.

Boston Bruins:  V. Arvidsson (LW) Day To Day - Upper-Body.

Buffalo Sabres:  J. Norris (C) Day To Day - Undisclosed. S. Carrick (C) Out - Arm. J. Kulich (C) Out For Season - Ear. J. Danforth (RW) Out For Season - Kneecap.

“We should be embarrassed because it was embarrassing. Guys know me and we’re going to talk about it. We’re going to analyze this, but at the end of the day, we have to move on, too. I am embarrassed and we all should be. You have to win four games to move on. They’ve got three, so that means we still have a chance. I can cry about it, but I have to push my guys for the next game and make sure our intensity is going to be there.” - Marco Sturm after his team’s loss against the Sabres in the 4th game of this series on Sunday.

“That first period is the best period we’ve played all year. Puck pressure, the scoring opportunities, as well as we moved the puck and got the puck up ice and didn’t spend much time in our end. (Game 3’s first period) wasn’t our best period, but these last five have been really solid.” - Lindy Ruff after his team’s win against the Bruins in game 4 of this series on Sunday. 

LW Morgan Geekie

C Elias Lindholm

RW David Pastrnak

LD Jonathan Aspirot

RD Charlie McAvoy

G Jeremy Swayman

LW Peyton Krebs

C Tage Thompson

RW Alex Tuch

LD Rasmus Dahlin

RD Mattias Samuelsson

G Alex Lyon

Points: David Pastrnak (100)

Goals: Morgan Geekie (39)

Assists: David Pastrnak (71)

GAA: Jeremy Swayman (2.71)

Points: Tage Thompson (81)

Goals: Tage Thompson (40)

Assists: Rasmus Dahlin (55)

GAA: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (2.52)

Coaches:

Boston Bruins: Marco Sturm (1st season)

Buffalo Sabres: Lindy Ruff (2nd season)