The New York Islanders (3-5-2) travel to face off against the Buffalo Sabres (4-5-1) on Friday, November 1st. This game will be played at KeyBank Center in Buffalo and televised on ESPN+. Both the Islanders and Sabres will be looking to bounce back from losses in their previous games. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 ET.

Islanders vs Sabres

The New York Islanders Look To Bounce Back From A Loss

The Islanders fell to 3-5-2 after a 2-0 road loss to the Blue Jackets. New York was favored on the puck line, but failed to cover. The total was set at 6 goals, but the combined score of 2 fell well short.

Both teams were scoreless until the third period, when Columbus broke through at 14:17. The Blue Jackets added an empty-net goal later in the period to seal the win.

The Buffalo Sabres Look To Bounce Back From A Loss

With a 5-2 loss to the Panthers, the Sabres dropped to 4-5-1 this season. Buffalo’s defense struggled early, giving up two goals in the first period and allowing Florida to pull away with two more in the third.

As underdogs on the puck line, the Sabres failed to cover, and the total of 7 goals went over the pre-game line of 6. Buffalo managed to tie the game at 2-2 in the second period, but the Panthers responded with three unanswered goals.

New York Offense Breakdown

In their last game, the Islanders were shut out, despite putting 26 shots on goal. They struggled with giveaways, tallying 22 in their 2-0 loss to Columbus.

New York was held scoreless across all three periods, including the third, when the Blue Jackets secured the win with two goals.

Sabres Offense Breakdown

Buffalo’s offense was held scoreless in the first period before Jason Zucker netted his second goal of the season on a power play. Rasmus Dahlin followed with his first goal of the year in the second period. The Sabres took 28 shots on goal and recorded 9 giveaways.

Tage Thompson picked up his fifth assist of the season on Zucker’s power-play goal, while JJ Peterka added his fourth assist. Owen Power also contributed with his sixth assist on Dahlin’s goal.

New York Team Defense

The Islanders’ defense held strong through two periods, but they gave up the first goal at 5:43 into the 3rd and another with 2:03 left. Semyon Varlamov made 24 saves with a 96% save percentage. The defense also recorded 10 takeaways and 23 hits.

Buffalo Team Defense

Defensively, the Sabres allowed the first two goals of the game and the final three, leading to a 5-2 loss to the Panthers. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 26 saves with a save percentage of 83.9%. Buffalo’s defense also recorded 5 takeaways and 24 hits.

Islanders vs Sabres Trends

• Across their five previous road games, New York has an puck line mark of 2-3. Their straight up record in these matchups was 2-3 while averaging 2 goals per game.
• Buffalo has played well in their previous three home games, going 2-1 straight up. In this stretch, they averaged 3 goals per game while allowing 3. The team also performed well vs the puck line at 2-1.
• Spanning across their last five games as the betting underdog, the Sabres have gone 3-2 vs the spread. Their overall record in these games was 2-3.
• Looking back on the team’s last five games as the favorite, the Islanders have a straight up record of 1-4. Their record vs the puck line in these games was 0-5.

Islanders vs Sabres Prediction

When it comes to a moneyline wager, I’m going with the Islanders to defeat the Sabres while playing on the road. Given the current moneyline odds at +100, I’m placing a wager on the Islanders to win outright.

If you’re looking to get a bet down on this matchup, we foresee the Islanders winning the underdog. However, if you’re not as confident in the Islanders straight-up, we’d still recommend placing a bet on them to cover the puck line.

When considering the over/under line, which is currently at 6 goals, we believe that this game will go over that threshold, and we recommend wagering on the over.

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All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!

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* All odds are 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.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.