Florida Panthers vs Buffalo Sabres Prediction, Preview and Odds - 04/03/2022

Game Time: 1:00 pm ET, Sunday, April 3, 2022

Venue:  KeyBank Center, Buffalo, NY

Where to Watch:  MSG-B

DraftKings:  Moneyline:  Panthers -280, Sabres +225; Over/Under:  6.5 goals

Bet365:  Moneyline:  Panthers -275, Sabres +225; Over/Under:  6.5 goals

BetMGM:  Moneyline:  Panthers -275, Sabres +225; Over/Under:  7 goals

 

Florida Panthers:  46-15-6 (1st place, Atlantic Division)

Buffalo Sabres:  25-33-11 (6th place, Atlantic Division)

 

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Florida Panthers:  7-2-1 last 10

Buffalo Sabres:  6-1-3 last 10

 

 

 

The Panthers are coming into this game with 98 points, a 46-15-6 record overall, and they are 18-9-6 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They have won 5 of their last 6 games and are coming into this one on a 2 game winning streak. Their last loss was against the Toronto Maple Leafs while their 5 wins in that span came against the Anaheim Ducks, the Montreal Canadiens, the Ottawa Senators, the Canadiens again, and the Chicago Blackhawks in their last game. They won that game at home 4-0. They still have a game against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday afternoon that needs to be played first so this will be the 2nd leg of a back-to-back for them on Sunday. In their game against the Blackhawks, Aleksander Barkov scored 2 goals in that game while Gustav Forsling and Ryan Lomberg both had 1 goal each. Mason Marchment led the team in shots on goal in that one with 7. Sergei Bobrovsky was the starting goaltender in that game and he allowed 0 goals on 37 shots with 37 saves and a 1.000 save percentage. Their offense has scored 275 goals this season averaging 4.1 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 195 goals against them allowing 2.9 goals per game. 

 

 

The Sabres are coming into this game with 61 points, a 25-33-11 record overall, and they are 13-16-6 in their home games this regular season where they will be in this game. They have won 2 of their last 3 games and are coming into this one off of a win in their last game. Their last loss was against the Winnipeg Jets while their 2 wins in that span came against the Chicago Blackhawks and the Nashville Predators in their last game. Tage Thompson scored 2 goals in that game while Peyton Krebs and Victor Olofsson both scored 1 goal each. Jeff Skinner led the team in shots on net in that game with 5. Craig Anderson was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 3 goals on 25 shots with 22 saves and a .880 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 190 goals this season averaging 2.8 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 243 goals against them allowing 3.5 goals per game. 

 

 

The Panthers have been playing very well recently winning 5 of their last 6 games but are coming into this game on a back-to-back. They have to play another afternoon game on Saturday against the Devils but they should play well in that game after playing one in the afternoon the day prior. The Panthers have been scoring a lot of goals as well recently and they shut out their last opponent prior to their Saturday game. They are going up against a Sabres team that has been playing much better recently but is still not a very good team and has been struggling to keep up in the Eastern Conference all season. The Sabres have won 5 of their last 8 games and whether they have won or lost, their last 8 straight games have all been decided by 1 goal. They are playing at home here where they have lost 2 of their last 3 games though. The Sabres have not been great all season but they are playing much better recently and with the Panthers' current schedule coming into this game, the Sabres could fight hard here and keep this one close. The Panthers will likely come away with the win here but the Sabres have played in 8 straight close games and they likely will not lose by more than 1 goal here as it should be a closer game. 

 

Panthers Sabres Prediction:  Our NHL Pick for Sunday, April 3, 2022 (1:00 pm ET start time) is Panthers 4 Sabres 3.

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Florida Panthers: 121-81 (+17.7u) on the moneyline in all games. 34-15 (+17.9u) on the moneyline after 3 straight games with 33 or more shots on goal. 40-24 OVER in all games.

Buffalo Sabres: 70-124 (-23u) on the moneyline in all games. 29-60 (-20.7u) on the moneyline after playing a game where 7 or more total goals were scored. 20-14 OVER after allowing 3 goals or more 2 straight games.

 

 

Florida Panthers:  _N. Acciari (C) Mid April - Upper Body injury. P. Hornqvist (RW) Mid April - Undisclosed injury. A. Lundell (C) Ques Sat - Lower Body injury. A. Ekblad (D) Out indefinitely - Lower Body injury. J. Johansson (G) Out indefinitely - Undisclosed injury. M. Nutivaara (D) Out indefinitely - Lower Body injury.

Buffalo Sabres:  C. Miller (D) Out indefinitely - Illness. D. Caggiula (LW) out for season - Upper Body injury. M. Subban (G) out for season - Upper Body injury.

 

 

 

“Cool moment. Couldn’t do it without my team. I’ve been aware of it on social media, but I didn’t try to think about it. You keep going, keep piling assists.” - Jonathan Huberdeau after their win against the Blackhawks on Thursday night.

 

 

“Obviously, we haven’t had more success here in the past, but we’re a young group and we’re excited for the future.” - Peyton Krebs after their win against the Predators on Friday night.

 

 

 

LW Verhaeghe, Carter

C Barkov, Aleksander

RW Duclair, Anthony

LD Forsling, Gustav

RD Weegar, MacKenzie

G Bobrovsky, Sergei

 

LW Skinner, Jeff

C Thompson, Tage

RW Tuch, Alex

LD Dahlin, Rasmus

RD Jokiharju, Henri

G Anderson, Craig

 

 

Points: J. Huberdeau (94)

Goals: A. Barkov (31)

Assists: J. Huberdeau (71)

GAA: S. Bobrovsky (2.55)

 

Points: T. Thompson (53)

Goals: T. Thompson (30)

Assists: R. Dahlin (34)

GAA: C. Anderson (3.06)

 

Coaches:

Florida Panthers: Andrew Brunette (Interim)

Buffalo Sabres: Don Granato (2nd season)