Buffalo Sabres Travel to Toronto to Face the Maple Leafs

The Buffalo Sabres will take a trip to Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday evening to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs in an Atlantic Division matchup. The Sabres (16-30-8, 40 points) are seventh in the Atlantic while the Maple Leafs are third (34-14-4, 72 points). 

This should be an entertaining matchup as we have some stars such as center Auston Matthews and right winger Tage Thompson on the ice. 

Let’s look at both teams and determine where we should be leaning a few days before they take the ice.

Do the Buffalo Sabres Have a Chance of Pulling Off an Upset?

The Sabres have not been a great offensive team this year as they are scoring 2.61 goals on 29.7 shot attempts thus far. Right winger Tage Thompson has been playing well this season as he has produced 40 points. (22 goals, 18 assists) He scored six points in his last five games, so he should be a factor. Buffalo is a little below average with a 19.2 power play percentage, which ranks 20th in the sport. 

Buffalo is currently 23rd in the NHL with a penalty kill percentage of 76.6 percent this season. Goaltender Dustin Tokarski has struggled. He is only 5-8-4 with 3.38 goals allowed and an 89.9 save percentage. As a whole, the Sabres are giving up 3.52 goals on 34.3 shot attempts per game and need to lower that number if they want to be successful here. 

Toronto has been an offensive force as they are averaging 3.65 goals on 34.8 shot attempts this year. A huge reason why is the fact that they are putting up a 30 power play percentage is leading all of the NHL right now.

Maple Leafs Center Auston Matthews has been dominating as he leads the league in goals and is fourth in points as he has recorded 68 points. (37 goals, 31 assists) He has scored a remarkable nine points in his previous three games. 

The Maple Leafs are giving up 2.85 goals on 30.7 shot attempts this season. Toronto has been excellent at penalty kills as they are fourth in hockey at 85 percent. Goalie Jack Campbell has been doing pretty well inside the net. He is 23-8-4 with 2.55 goals given up and a 91.7 save percentage this season. 

Buffalo Sabres Betting Predictions at Toronto Maple Leafs

The Maple Leafs are giving up 4.6 goals in their last five games, while the Sabres are allowing four goals in that same stretch of games.

Outside of Auston Matthews, the Maple Leafs offense is going to be stagnant for long stretches, and the Sabres can take advantage of that.

Toronto is currently a brutal 22-30 ATS this season, while the Sabres are doing quite well as they are posting a respectable 29-25 ATS record.

All in all, go with the Buffalo Sabres getting a goal and a half to cover the puck line on the road here.

* 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.