Dallas Stars vs. Buffalo Sabres: Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 3/9/2023

Time: 7 p.m. ET

Venue: KeyBank Center, Buffalo, NY

Where to watch: BSSW, MSG-B

DraftKings: Stars -150, Sabres +130

BetMGM: Stars -150, Sabres +130

Caesars: Stars -150, Sabres +130

Stars: 34-17-13

Sabres: 32-27-4

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The Dallas Stars will be playing the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, March 9 in Buffalo, New York.

The Dallas Stars lost against the Calgary Flames last Monday at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas with a score of 5-4. The Dallas Stars currently rank 1st in the Central Division.

Jamie Benn had a goal and an assist, and Max Domi scored his first goal for the Stars (34-17-13), who had won three straight and had their five-game point streak end. Oettinger made 33 saves.

Dallas remained three points ahead of the Minnesota Wild, who have one game in hand, for first place in the Central Division.

"They're all learning lessons, I think, for our group," Stars coach Peter DeBoer said. "At the end of the day, I think you get what you deserve in this league most nights I find. I'm not sure we deserved to win tonight based on what we put out there for 60 minutes."

Calgary scored two goals before Jason Robertson cut it to 2-1 at 11:48 with a one-timer from above the right circle on a power play.

Domi tied it 2-2 at 15:42, finishing a centering pass from in front after Seguin intercepted a pass by Noah Hanifin below the goal line. Domi was playing in his second game with the Stars since being acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday.

"I think today we started pretty slow," Roope Hintz said. "We weren't at our best at the beginning. I think that was on us. The next game we've got to come hard right away when it starts."

Calgary scored another two points to take the lead before Hintz cut the Flames' lead to 4-3 at 9:49 of the third period, scoring short-handed on a partial breakaway with a backhand that trickled over the goal line. It was his 30th goal of the season.

Benn tied it 4-4 at 14:12, redirecting Esa Lindell's point shot in front.

"We don't like to be in those positions, but we're comfortable being down," Stars forward Tyler Seguin said. "We know we've got a lot of belief in this group that we can come back in games. Obviously, that one hurts."

Tyler Toffoli scored with 6.2 seconds remaining in regulation, and the Calgary Flames ended a five-game losing streak with a 5-4 win.

The Dallas Stars have won four of their last 10 games.

The Buffalo Sabres lost against the New York Islanders on Tuesday, March 7 at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York with a score of 3-2. The Buffalo Sabres currently rank 5th in the Atlantic Division.

Dylan Cozens and Kyle Okposo scored for the Sabres (32-27-4), who also lost 3-2 at home to the Edmonton Oilers on Monday. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 36 saves.

Buffalo has lost four of five (1-4-0).

"We knew how big of a game it was," said Okposo, the Sabres captain. "I just think fatigue set in a little bit in the second [period], just kind of mental fatigue, and we just started to make some mistakes. But we battled hard. We had chances to win the game and tie the game back up and capitalize."

Cozens gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead at 5:00 of the second period. He collected the puck in the neutral zone, raced past New York defensemen Adam Pelech and Scott Mayfield, and beat Sorokin with a wrist shot from the edge of the right face-off circle for his 25th goal of the season.

Casey Cizikas tied it 1-1 at 12:38 with a one-timer of Fasching's feed from behind the net. It was his first goal since Jan. 14 (22 games).

New York outshot Buffalo 17-7 in the second.

Josh Bailey gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead at 1:51 of the third period. Okposo tied it 2-2 at 4:59 on a redirection of a shot from Owen Power. It was his first goal since Jan. 14 (22 games).

"Unfortunately, this is what gaining experience is all about," Buffalo coach Don Granato said. "These are the hard lessons you learn, and that's a big, big next step for us."

Hudson Fasching broke a tie in the third period for the New York Islanders in a 3-2 win.

The Buffalo Sabres have won five of their last 10 games.

Prediction

I always have a feeling that the Stars purposely play well in Buffalo like it's 1999. This will be no change. Stars 5, Sabres 3

Sabres:

Jeff Skinner - - Tage Thompson - - Jack Quinn

Casey Mittelstadt - - Dylan Cozens - - Vinnie Hinostroza

JJ Peterka - - Peyton Krebs - - Victor Olofsson

Jordan Greenway - - Zemgus Girgensons - - Kyle Okposo

Rasmus Dahlin - - Kale Clague

Owen Power - - Henri Jokiharju

Jacob Bryson - - Ilya Lyubushkin

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Stars:

Jason Robertson -- Roope Hintz -- Joe Pavelski

Jamie Benn -- Wyatt Johnston -- Evgenii Dadonov

Max Domi -- Tyler Seguin -- Mason Marchment

Joel Kiviranta -- Radek Faksa -- Ty Dellandrea

Miro Heiskanen -- Colin Miller

Esa Lindell -- Jani Hakanpaa

Ryan Suter -- Nils Lundkvist

Jake Oettinger