by Chuck Sommers
Saturday, Mar 04, 2023
Time: 12:30 p.m. ET
Venue: KeyBank Center, Buffalo, NY
Where to watch: BSUNX, MSG-B
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Lightning -160, Sabres +135
FanDuel: Lightning -160, Sabres +135
BetMGM: Lightning -160, Sabres +135
Caesars: Lightning -160, Sabres +135
Season record
Lightning: 37-19-5
Sabres: 31-25-4
The All-Star break is over, the second half of the NHL season can officially begin, and we're bound for what should be a very exciting second half of the hockey season. Basketball and hockey are about to rule the roost in the sports betting world once the Super Bowl is done with, and we should all be very excited for what's to come. When the trade deadline hits and players switch teams, you know things are about to get hectic over these final 30 games or so. One way you can stay tuned with the action is following what our champion handicappers are doing in the world of the NHL. Look at ASA, Inc., reeling in a $6,750 profit off a 17-9-0 run. Al McMordie is also doing well on the ice with a 13-5-0 run and a net profit of $6,050. Scott Rickenbach has also been hanging strong with a lot of betting action, in what's been an unusual year, with a 24-18-0 run and reeling in $5,950. You know this action is going to be great now that games are back and a busy second half if on the horizon. All you need to do is head to our BEST BETS page at bigal.com to find out all of what we're trying to tell you. Make sure you're locked in at bigal.com and go to our Best Bets page to find out what our champion handicappers have to say in the world of the NHL!
Lightning - Sabres preview, prediction and analysis
The Tampa Bay Lightning will be playing the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, March 4 in Buffalo, New York.
The Tampa Bay Lightning lost against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday, March 2 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida with a score of 5-4 in overtime. The Tampa Bay Lightning currently rank 3rd in the Atlantic Division.
Brayden Point scored for the sixth straight game for the Lightning (37-19-5), who tied it twice in the third period but lost for the fourth time in five games (1-2-2). Andrei Vasilevskiy made 27 saves.
"It felt like our effort was better," Point said. "We had some chances on the power play to go up, but overall, we did better. We're getting back to how can play. This was a step in the right direction."
Ross Colton gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead at 5:39 of the first period after Tanner Jeannot took a shot that hit Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang in the face and deflected off Colton and into the net.
Jeff Petry tied it 1-1 at 6:06 of the second period with a wrist shot from the left circle, then made it 2-1 at 6:31 from the right circle.
Point extended his goal streak when he tied it 2-2 on a power play at 9:39 after he jammed in a rebound off a shot from Mikhail Sergachev.
"We played well enough to win the game," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "It's a game of mistakes, and every team makes mistakes. The ones we made tonight all ended up in the back of the net. They were some poor decisions. It happens in games, and many times it doesn't end up in the back of the net. Tonight, and it seems like as of late, they all are."
Jason Zucker put Pittsburgh ahead 3-2 at 15:06 on a breakaway. Steven Stamkos tied it 3-3 for Tampa Bay 38 seconds into the third with a wrist shot from the left circle.
Drew O'Connor gave Pittsburgh a 4-3 lead at 6:59 when he fought off pressure from Darren Raddysh and beat Vasilevskiy with a wrist shot. Victor Hedman tied it 4-4 at 15:50 with a wrist shot from the left circle that beat Jarry five-hole.
The Lightning went 2-for-5 on the power play; the Penguins were 0-for-5.
"It seems like we're going through a tough stretch right now where we can get the results we want, but I liked our push back," Hedman said. "Special teams were good. We played a great team that's playing well as of late. It was a close game that went to overtime, so we get this point and we'll move on."
Jason Zucker scored his second goal of the game at 2:13 of overtime to give the Pittsburgh Penguins their fourth straight win.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have won four of their last 10 games.
The Buffalo Sabres lost against the Boston Bruins on Thursday, March 2 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts with a score of 7-1. The Buffalo Sabres currently rank 4th in the Atlantic Division.
Casey Mittelstadt scored, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 35 saves for the Sabres (31-25-4), who lost their second straight game after winning five of the previous six.
"The game didn't get away from us in the first period; it got away from us in the second a bit," Buffalo coach Don Granato said. "We still had opportunities, and I thought tonight we didn't play with our pace that we need."
The goalies exchanged big stops through the first 32 minutes to keep it level, with Swayman stopping a JJ Peterka breakaway at 14:55 of the first period, and Luukkonen responding with back-to-back split saves on each leg against Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha two minutes into the second period.
Orlov broke through to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 12:01 of the second period. He fired a one-timer from the right face-off circle on a 4-on-3 power play after Pastrnak got tripped by Luukkonen to set up the man-advantage.
"It is what it is," Sabres captain Kyle Okposo said. "We've got to try and kill a penalty. It was a pretty even game. I mean, they capitalize on their opportunities and we didn't. They're obviously a really sound team structurally. They're very disciplined, and we just cracked first."
Boston scored three more goals before Mittelstadt cut it to 4-1 at 15:40.
"We've got some skill," said Buffalo defenseman Riley Stillman, who made his Sabres debut after being traded from the Vancouver Canucks on Monday. "We have some serious skill. We can make plays, and we're going to be a good hockey club. Obviously, tonight's a bit of an anomaly. We got to park it and move on, and get ready to go here in a couple days."
Boston scored another three goals making the final score 7-1.
The Buffalo Sabres have won five of their last 10 games.
Prediction
Buffalo is starting to scare me. Level of competition won't help. Lightning 5, Sabres 3
The Tampa Bay Lightning lost against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday, March 2 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida with a score of 5-4 in overtime. The Tampa Bay Lightning currently rank 3rd in the Atlantic Division.
Brayden Point scored for the sixth straight game for the Lightning (37-19-5), who tied it twice in the third period but lost for the fourth time in five games (1-2-2). Andrei Vasilevskiy made 27 saves.
"It felt like our effort was better," Point said. "We had some chances on the power play to go up, but overall, we did better. We're getting back to how can play. This was a step in the right direction."
Ross Colton gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead at 5:39 of the first period after Tanner Jeannot took a shot that hit Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang in the face and deflected off Colton and into the net.
Jeff Petry tied it 1-1 at 6:06 of the second period with a wrist shot from the left circle, then made it 2-1 at 6:31 from the right circle.
Point extended his goal streak when he tied it 2-2 on a power play at 9:39 after he jammed in a rebound off a shot from Mikhail Sergachev.
"We played well enough to win the game," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "It's a game of mistakes, and every team makes mistakes. The ones we made tonight all ended up in the back of the net. They were some poor decisions. It happens in games, and many times it doesn't end up in the back of the net. Tonight, and it seems like as of late, they all are."
Jason Zucker put Pittsburgh ahead 3-2 at 15:06 on a breakaway. Steven Stamkos tied it 3-3 for Tampa Bay 38 seconds into the third with a wrist shot from the left circle.
Drew O'Connor gave Pittsburgh a 4-3 lead at 6:59 when he fought off pressure from Darren Raddysh and beat Vasilevskiy with a wrist shot. Victor Hedman tied it 4-4 at 15:50 with a wrist shot from the left circle that beat Jarry five-hole.
The Lightning went 2-for-5 on the power play; the Penguins were 0-for-5.
"It seems like we're going through a tough stretch right now where we can get the results we want, but I liked our push back," Hedman said. "Special teams were good. We played a great team that's playing well as of late. It was a close game that went to overtime, so we get this point and we'll move on."
Jason Zucker scored his second goal of the game at 2:13 of overtime to give the Pittsburgh Penguins their fourth straight win.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have won four of their last 10 games.
The Buffalo Sabres lost against the Boston Bruins on Thursday, March 2 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts with a score of 7-1. The Buffalo Sabres currently rank 4th in the Atlantic Division.
Casey Mittelstadt scored, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 35 saves for the Sabres (31-25-4), who lost their second straight game after winning five of the previous six.
"The game didn't get away from us in the first period; it got away from us in the second a bit," Buffalo coach Don Granato said. "We still had opportunities, and I thought tonight we didn't play with our pace that we need."
The goalies exchanged big stops through the first 32 minutes to keep it level, with Swayman stopping a JJ Peterka breakaway at 14:55 of the first period, and Luukkonen responding with back-to-back split saves on each leg against Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha two minutes into the second period.
Orlov broke through to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 12:01 of the second period. He fired a one-timer from the right face-off circle on a 4-on-3 power play after Pastrnak got tripped by Luukkonen to set up the man-advantage.
"It is what it is," Sabres captain Kyle Okposo said. "We've got to try and kill a penalty. It was a pretty even game. I mean, they capitalize on their opportunities and we didn't. They're obviously a really sound team structurally. They're very disciplined, and we just cracked first."
Boston scored three more goals before Mittelstadt cut it to 4-1 at 15:40.
"We've got some skill," said Buffalo defenseman Riley Stillman, who made his Sabres debut after being traded from the Vancouver Canucks on Monday. "We have some serious skill. We can make plays, and we're going to be a good hockey club. Obviously, tonight's a bit of an anomaly. We got to park it and move on, and get ready to go here in a couple days."
Boston scored another three goals making the final score 7-1.
The Buffalo Sabres have won five of their last 10 games.
Prediction
Buffalo is starting to scare me. Level of competition won't help. Lightning 5, Sabres 3
Projected lines
Lightning:
Brandon Hagel -- Brayden Point -- Nikita Kucherov
Steven Stamkos -- Anthony Cirelli -- Alex Killorn
Ross Colton -- Nicholas Paul -- Tanner Jeannot
Pat Maroon -- Pierre-Edouard Bellemare -- Corey Perry
Victor Hedman -- Erik Cernak
Mikhail Sergachev -- Nick Perbix
Ian Cole -- Zach Bogosian
Brian Elliott
Brandon Hagel -- Brayden Point -- Nikita Kucherov
Steven Stamkos -- Anthony Cirelli -- Alex Killorn
Ross Colton -- Nicholas Paul -- Tanner Jeannot
Pat Maroon -- Pierre-Edouard Bellemare -- Corey Perry
Victor Hedman -- Erik Cernak
Mikhail Sergachev -- Nick Perbix
Ian Cole -- Zach Bogosian
Brian Elliott
Sabres:
Jeff Skinner -- Tage Thompson -- Jack Quinn
Casey Mittelstadt -- Dylan Cozens -- Vinnie Hinostroza
JJ Peterka -- Peyton Krebs -- Victor Olofsson
Zemgus Girgensons -- Tyson Jost -- Kyle Okposo
Mattias Samuelsson -- Rasmus Dahlin
Owen Power -- Henri Jokiharju
Riley Stillman -- Ilya Lyubushkin
Eric Comrie
Jeff Skinner -- Tage Thompson -- Jack Quinn
Casey Mittelstadt -- Dylan Cozens -- Vinnie Hinostroza
JJ Peterka -- Peyton Krebs -- Victor Olofsson
Zemgus Girgensons -- Tyson Jost -- Kyle Okposo
Mattias Samuelsson -- Rasmus Dahlin
Owen Power -- Henri Jokiharju
Riley Stillman -- Ilya Lyubushkin
Eric Comrie
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
