Buffalo Sabres vs St. Louis Blues - Odds and Predictions

Where: Enterprise Center – St. Louis, MO.

When: Thursday, January 9, 8 PM EST

How (TV/Radio): Sportsnet, Fox Sports Midwest, MSG Buffalo | WFAN

Buffalo Sabres (Away)

Head Coach: Ralph Krueger{All-Time 38-39-14 BUF, EDM}

Currently sitting fifth in the Atlantic division, the Buffalo Sabres have struggled over the past two weeks, going only 3-6-1 in their last ten games. However, the team is currently riding a two-game winning streak and they are two games over-500.

Offense

The Sabres have their hands full in this one. Buffalo doesn’t rank higher than 16th-overall in any major offensive statistics this season – the highest being their 16th-best shooting percentage, which sits at 9.7 percent. They have taken the eighth-fewest shots on goal in the NHL this season.

The Buffalo Sabres have scored the 12th-fewest goals this season with 126. They have 101 at even strength and 23 on the power play.

Speaking of the power play, Buffalo’s man-advantage currently sits as the league’s tenth-lowest – having just a 17.7 percent success rate when on the power play.

The bright spot for Buffalo has been their captain Jack Eichel. Despite injuries to the team, among other struggles, Eichel has managed to remain in the league’s top-ten when it comes to scoring, having 26 goals and 55 points on the season. He has also managed to be a plus-10.

Defense

Buffalo has had their hits and misses when it comes to defense this season, and a lot of that has been determined on whether Rasmus Dahlin was healthy or not.

Buffalo allows an average of 3.12 goals against per game and has allowed the 17th-most goals against. The team’s collective save percentage sits at .901 – good enough for 18th in the league.

Penalty killing has been the achilles heel for the Sabres this season as they have the fourth-worst penalty-killing unit in the NHL right now. Their killing percentage sits at just 74.62 percent and they have allowed a total of 33 power-play goals against.

The team has also allowed six short-handed goals against this season as well.

Goaltending

Buffalo goaltender Linus Ullmark is expected to get the start against the Blues. Ullmark has a season record of 13-11-3 with a goals-against-average of 2.83 and a .911 save percentage. He has one shutout this season.

Head Coach: Craig Berube{All-Time 140-87-41 STL, PHI}

The defending Stanley Cup champs still find themselves atop the Central Division with a season record of 27-10-7. The Blues have gone 7-2-1 in their last ten games and are coming off of a 3-2 win over the San Jose Sharks.

Offense

What more can be said about St. Louis? Even without elite scorer Vladimir Tarasenko, the blues have remained one of the most dominant teams in the league. They have scored the 12th-most goals in the league with 138 – 102 of them at even strength.

The team has the 12th-fewest shots on net this season but they make their shots count. Currently, the Blues sit with a shooting percentage of 10.4 percent – the eighth-best in the league.

St. Louis also boasts the NHL’s fifth-best power-play percentage at 24.43 percent. They have 32 power-play goals this season.

St. Louis has also mustered four shorthanded goals, showing how dangerous they are even when at a disadvantage.

Defense

The Blues have allowed just the sixth-fewest goals against in the NHL this season; the fourth-fewest against at even strength.

The team has a combined .914 save percentage which ranks as the league’s fifth-best. They have combined for two shutouts this season.

St. Louis has the fourth-lowest average when it comes to penalty minutes per game and they have a penalty-killing percentage of 80.77 percent.

Goaltending

Starting goalie Jordan Binnington is expected to be in the crease for St. Louis Thursday night. Binnington has gone 20-7-4 this season. His GAA sits at 2.53 and he has a .917 save percentage. He has one shutout this season and has been voted in as a member of the all-star roster.

These two teams last did battle on December 10, 2019. In a big upset, it was the Buffalo Sabres who came away with the victory, defeating the Blues by a final score of 5-2.

Buffalo needs these two points. St. Louis has already established themselves as an elite. They are defending champions and first in their division.

The Sabres have only recently started to show signs of life and every two points matter if this team wants to make the playoffs for their first time in years. A win over the Blues would be a big statement.

Questions to Answer

How big of an impact will injuries have for these two teams? There are 11 players combined for these two teams that will not be on the ice Thursday night.

Can Jack Eichel continue his scoring surge even when put up against an elite goaltender like Jordan Binnington? Will Eichel be able to sneak any pucks past St. Louis’ all-star netminder?

Will the Blues be able to take full advantage of Buffalo’s poor performances on the penalty kill? Will special teams be the deciding factor in this matchup?

Buffalo Sabres Injury Report

D Matt Hunwick – IR/NR (neck)

F Vladimir Sobotka – DL (knee)

F Jeff Skinner – DL (upper-body)

D Jake McCabe – OUT (upper-body)

F Tage Thompson – DL (upper-body)

F Victor Olofsson – OUT (lower-body)

St. Louis Blues Injury Report

D Carl Gunnarsson – DL (arm)

F Vladimir Tarasenko – DL (shoulder)

F Sammy Blais – DL (wrist)

D Colton Parayko – day-to-day (upper-body)

F Erik Foley – IR/NR (concussion)

The latest odds for the Sabres vs the Blues are provided by Unibet NJ, DraftKings Sportsbook, and 888Sport NJ.

Money Line