Buffalo Sabres vs Boston Bruins Prediction, Preview and Odds - 04/23/2026

Game Time: 7:00 pm ET, Thursday, April 23, 2026

Venue:  TD Garden, Boston, MA 

Where to Watch:  TNT, HBO Max, truTV

DraftKings:  Moneyline:  Sabres -110, Bruins -110; Over/Under:  6.5 goals

Bet365:  Moneyline:  Sabres -110, Bruins -110; Over/Under:  6 goals

BetMGM:  Moneyline:  Sabres -110, Bruins -110; Over/Under:  6 goals

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

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

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Buffalo Sabres:  6-3-1 last 10

Boston Bruins:  4-4-2 last 10

The Sabres are entering the playoffs with 109 points, a 50-23-9 record overall, and they were 24-13-4 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a loss against the Boston Bruins in their last game, losing that one at home 4-2. Bowen Byram and Peyton Krebs each scored 1 goal for them in that one. Alex Tuch, Beck Malenstyn, Owen Power, and Rasmus Dahlin each led the team in assists with 1 while Rasmus Dahlin and Tage Thompson each led the team in shots on net in that game with 6. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 4 goals on 19 shots with 15 saves and a .789 sv percentage before getting replaced by Alex Lyon who stopped all 7 shots he faced. 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 Bruins are entering the playoffs with 100 points, a 45-27-10 record overall, and they were 29-11-1 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a win against the Buffalo Sabres in their last game, winning that one on the road 4-2. Viktor Arvidsson led the team in goals scored with 2 while Morgan Geekie and Pavel Zacha each scored 1 goal for them in that one. Casey Mittelstadt, David Pastrnak, and Jonathan Aspirot each led the team in assists with 2 while Viktor Arvidsson led the team in shots on net in that game with 5. Jeremy Swayman was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 2 goals on 36 shots with 34 saves and a .944 save percentage. 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 current betting odds have the Bruins listed as a pick 'em 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 been a good road team too with their 24-13-4 road record this year. 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 also looked great on home ice with their 29-11-3 home record this season. This is game 3 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. This series is all evened up 1-1 after the Bruins won game 2 by a score of 4-2. The Sabres really had a chance to take a stranglehold of this series in game 2 and take all of the momentum for themselves, but now the momentum is with the Bruins going back home where they have looked like a different team this year. The Sabres haven't really looked good in either game of this series and even though they came away with the win in game 2, they looked terrible for 2 periods and didn't even score a goal until under 10 minutes left when the comeback started. They had a chance to kill the Bruins in game 2 with the way the Bruins crumbled at the end of game 1, but once again the Sabres were outplayed on home ice and the Bruins ended up getting the job done. The Sabres have still looked great in road games this season, but they are an inexperienced playoff team that has had a lot of trouble with the Bruins this season. Now the pressure is back on the Sabres to steal one of these road games, but the Bruins have been one of the best home teams in the NHL this season and have some playoff experience to help out along with the momentum on their side now. The best way to place a bet here is on the Bruins to win this game. 

Sabres Bruins Prediction:  Our NHL Pick for Thursday, April 23, 2026 (7:00 pm ET start time) is Bruins 4 Sabres 3.

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Buffalo Sabres: 43-37 (+13.1 units) on the moneyline revenging a same season loss vs opponent. 59-39 (+7.1 units) on the moneyline as a favorite of -200 or less. 73-77 (+10.6 units) on the moneyline against explosive offensive teams - scoring 3+ goals/game. 19-11 UNDER after playing 3 consecutive home games.

Boston Bruins: 132-129 (-12.5 units) on the moneyline in all games. 20-30 (-5.1 units) on the moneyline when playing against a good team (Win Pct. 60% to 75%). 75-82 (-7.6 units) on the moneyline against explosive offensive teams - scoring 3+ goals/game. 26-15 UNDER at home when the money line is -100 to -150.

Buffalo Sabres:  S. Carrick (C) Out - Arm. N. Ostlund (C) Out - Upper-Body. J. Kulich (C) Out For Season - Ear. J. Danforth (RW) Out For Season - Lower Body.

Boston Bruins:  None.

“It's playoff hockey. Our guys have experienced very little of it. Now in a matter of few days, they’ve been able to experience two games. There’s areas we’re going to have to get better at, but don’t want to see one person doubting that we’re not going to go into Boston and win a hockey game.” - Lindy Ruff after his team’s loss against the Bruins in the 2nd game of this series on Tuesday. 

“A series doesn’t start until you win one on the road and that’s important for us moving forward. The biggest thing for our group is we left the past in the past and understood there was an opportunity tonight and seized it.” - Jeremy Swayman after their win against the Sabres in game 2 of this series on Tuesday.

LW Peyton Krebs

C Tage Thompson

RW Alex Tuch

LD Rasmus Dahlin

RD Mattias Samuelsson

G Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

LW Morgan Geekie

C Elias Lindholm

RW David Pastrnak

LD Jonathan Aspirot

RD Charlie McAvoy

G Jeremy Swayman

Points: Tage Thompson (81)

Goals: Tage Thompson (40)

Assists: Rasmus Dahlin (55)

GAA: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (2.52)

Points: David Pastrnak (100)

Goals: Morgan Geekie (39)

Assists: David Pastrnak (71)

GAA: Jeremy Swayman (2.71)

Coaches:

Buffalo Sabres: Lindy Ruff (2nd season)

Boston Bruins: Marco Sturm (1st season)