Buffalo Sabres Travel to Chicago to Face the Blackhawks

The Buffalo Sabres will head over to the United Center for an Eastern Conference vs Western Conference game against the Chicago Blackhawks.

This will be the first of two games against one another, with their other matchup in Buffalo on April 29th. The Sabres are sixth in the Atlantic Division (23-33-8, 54 points), while the Blackhawks are sitting at seventh in the Central Division (23-32-9, 55 points) as of this writing. 

These teams are both very similar heading into this game, so this should be a very entertaining matchup to watch. Let’s take a deeper dive into the Buffalo Sabres and the Chicago Blackhawks to figure out where we should be placing our bets. 

Match Preview: Buffalo Sabres at Chicago Blackhawks March 28th

Right winger Tage Thompson has been leading the Sabres as he is tied for 23rd in the sport in goals as he has posted 48 points (27 goals, 21 assists) this season with six points added in his previous five games played.

As a team, Buffalo is scoring 2.63 goals on 29.8 shots up to this point. Goalie Craig Anderson needs to step up as he is 12-9-0 with 3.04 goals allowed per game and a .904 save percentage. The Sabres are not doing well on the defensive end as a team as they are allowing 3.47 goals on 33.8 shot attempts this season. 

Chicago has to improve a bit on the offensive side of the ice as they are averaging 2.63 goals on 28.6 shot attempts as of this writing. Veteran right winger Patrick Kane is tied for fifth in the entire league in assists and 14th in the NHL in points as he has produced 74 points (20 goals, 54 assists) while scoring an additional nine points in his last five games.

The Blackhawks are struggling defensively as a team as they are giving up 3.42 goals on 32.2 shots right now. Kevin Lankinen is not doing that well as the starting goaltender as he is just 4-8-4 with a .891 save percentage and 3.42 goals allowed per game. 

Buffalo Sabres at Chicago Blackhawks Betting Prediction

Both of these teams are playing at extremely similar level as the Sabres have scored four short-handed goals while the Blackhawks have scored just two.

On the defensive side, they are both killing penalties as Buffalo is killing 75.6 percent of all penalties while Chicago is killing 76.4 percent of all penalties throughout the course of the regular season.

Chicago is 33-31 against the spread right now, while Buffalo is an outstanding 36-28 against the spread this season. Go with the Buffalo Sabres getting 1.5 goals in this game to cover the puck line.

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* All odds provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.