Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Venue: KeyBank Center, Buffalo, NY
Where to watch: TNT
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Hurricanes -150, Sabres +130
FanDuel: Hurricanes -164, Sabres +136
BetMGM: Hurricanes -165, Sabres +140
Caesars: Hurricanes -164, Sabres +140
Season record
Hurricanes: 33-9-8
Sabres: 26-19-4
We’ve hit the halfway mark in the NHL season. Yes, you read that right. We’re really hit that halfway mark that quickly. If you blinked, you probably missed a lot of good things happen in the hockey world. And with football about to be out of the way, look for our champion handicappers to get back on the rink. Oskeim Sports is on a 13-5-0 run in the NHL over the last 30 days, as is Will Rogers. Sean Murphy has also cashed in with a 16-10-0 run in the last month. Make sure you’re following our champion handicappers at bigal.com to get on this winning action!
Hurricanes - Sabres preview, prediction and analysis
Recent results
Hurricanes: won 5-4 (OT) vs. Kings
Sabres: lost 3-2 (SO) at Wild
The Carolina Hurricanes will be playing the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday, February 1 in Buffalo, New York.
The Carolina Hurricanes won against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, January 31 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina with a score of 5-4. The Carolina Hurricanes currently rank 1st in the Metropolitan Division.
Sebastian Aho scored on the power play with 54 seconds left in overtime for the Hurricanes. Aho one-timed a pass from Brent Burns in the right face-off circle to extend his goal streak to five games (eight goals).The Hurricanes came back with three goals in the third period to extend their winning streak to six games.
Burns had a goal and an assist, Andrei Svechnikov had two assists, and Frederik Andersen made 17 saves for the Hurricanes (33-9-8), who extended their point streak to nine games (8-0-1) and visit the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday.
Burns gave Carolina a 1-0 lead at 13:27 of the first period with a wrist shot from the right face-off circle after Svechnikov made a short backhand pass.
"It was a great third [period]," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "Give them credit for not packing it in. It's 4-1 going into the third, not playing very well. We decided to put a good effort up and got rewarded."
The Hurricanes made it 4-2 at 3:27 of the third period when Paul Stastny drove the net to score on a rebound.
"Obviously a huge goal by [Stastny] at first, then I felt like Staal's line got us going," Aho said. "The rest of us kind of followed. Huge goal by [Teravainen] on the power play, and obviously a good OT."
Three of Carolina's past four wins have come in overtime. Martin Necas scored in overtime in a 3-2 win against the Dallas Stars on Wednesday and again in 5-4 win against the San Jose Sharks on Friday, when the Hurricanes scored twice in the last 1:37 of the third.
"These guys need a break," Brind'Amour said. "You see how hard they play all year. That could have easily been, we've had a good run, we've done pretty well. They gave it what they had. I appreciate that about the group."
The Carolina Hurricanes have won eight of their last 10 games.
The Buffalo Sabres lost against the Minnesota Wild last Saturday, January 28 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota with a score of 3-2 in a shoot out. The Buffalo Sabres currently rank 4th in the Atlantic Division.
Jack Quinn and Zemgus Girgensons scored, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 33 saves for Buffalo (26-19-4), which extended its point streak to seven (5-0-2).
"We generated enough to win," Sabres coach Don Granato said. "At least we got a point out of it, which is big. The road trip, we had seven out of eight points, so it's a good trip. These guys should walk out with their heads up."
Quinn gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead at 2:22 of the first period. He intercepted a clearing attempt from Wild defenseman Jake Middleton in the right circle, circled back and scored from the high slot.
Eriksson Ek tied it 1-1 at 3:35, chipping in a pass from Kaprizov 11 seconds into a power play.
"They're a good team over there," Sabres forward Kyle Okposo said. "They take a lot of pride defensively. We put up a six spot on them last game (6-5 overtime win on Jan. 7), so we knew that they were going to really buckle down defensively."
Girgensons gave Buffalo a 2-1 lead at 9:50 of the second period. Peyton Krebs won a battle behind the net and got the puck out to Okposo, who pulled Fleury out of position before sending a backdoor pass to Girgensons.
"It was great," Girgensons said. "Started with 'Krebsy' making a simple play and outworking two guys and getting it to [Okposo], and an unbelievable play by [Okposo]."
The Buffalo Sabres have won six of their last 10 games.
Prediction
The Sabres are playing some great hockey, and nothing would be better for them than to head into the break with a win over the Hurricanes, even if that means they're on a back-to-back. Sabres 4, Hurricanes 3
Betting trends
Hurricanes are 7-2 after winning 6 or 7 of the last 8 this season.
Sabres are 10-10 off an under this season.
Sabres are 17-37 off a road loss the last 3 seasons.
Projected lines
Hurricanes:
Teuvo Teravainen -- Sebastian Aho -- Seth Jarvis
Andrei Svechnikov -- Jesperi Kotkaniemi -- Martin Necas
Jordan Martinook -- Jordan Staal -- Jesper Fast
Derek Stepan Paul Stastny -- Stefan Noesen
Jalen Chatfield -- Brent Burns
Brady Skjei -- Brett Pesce
Calvin de Haan -- Dylan Coghlan
Antti Raanta
Sabres:
Jeff Skinner -- Tage Thompson -- Alex Tuch
JJ Peterka -- Rasmus Asplund -- Jack Quinn
Casey Mittelstadt -- Tyson Jost -- Victor Olofsson
Zemgus Girgensons -- Peyton Krebs -- Kyle Okposo
Mattias Samuelsson -- Rasmus Dahlin
Owen Power -- Henri Jokiharju
Jacob Bryson -- Ilya Lyubushkin
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
Don't miss our champion handicappers' free picks and expert hockey picks today. And if you enjoyed this Carolina Hurricanes - Buffalo Sabres prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our daily NHL projections and previews.