by Chuck Sommers
Saturday, Jan 21, 2023
Time: 12:30 p.m. ET
Venue: KeyBank Center, Buffalo, NY
Where to watch: MSG-B, BSSC, NHL Network
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Sabres -255, Ducks +215
FanDuel: Sabres -260, Ducks +210
BetMGM: Sabres -250, Ducks +200
Caesars: Sabres -263, Ducks +210
Season record
Ducks: 13-28-5
Sabres: 22-19-3
We’ve hit the halfway mark in the NHL season. Yes, you read that right. We’re really hit that halfway mark that quickly. If you blinked, you probably missed a lot of good things happen in the hockey world. And with football about to be out of the way, look for our champion handicappers to get back on the rink. Oskeim Sports is on a 13-5-0 run in the NHL over the last 30 days, as is Will Rogers. Sean Murphy has also cashed in with a 16-10-0 run in the last month. Make sure you’re following our champion handicappers at bigal.com to get on this winning action!
Ducks - Sabres preview, prediction and analysis
In a battle of teams who are struggling heavily right now, the Anaheim Ducks will look to win a second consecutive game on Saturday when they face the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center.
Anaheim ended a 5 game-losing streak on Thursday when they defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-3 in Columbus. It was a battle of two of the worst teams in the league and the money line situation was actually the lowest it's been in quite a while for Anaheim. Trevor Zegras had a goal and an assist, as did Cam Fowler, And John Gibson stopped all eighteen shots he saw in relief after Anthony Stolarz was pulled following a three-goal game that did not showcase his best talents.
"The guys played really well for me out there those two periods, so I've got to give a lot of credit to them," Gibson said.
Those two teams will absolutely be in the running for Connor Bedard when the NHL draft rolls around six months from now. Anaheim should not be in the running for such a thing, but the fact that they have gone 3-7 in their last 10 shows that there is a lot left to be desired as it pertains to the Ducks. They aren't playing as well as they should be and considering that there should have been higher expectations this year with the development of Zegras, this is about as disappointing of this season as one could have.
The Sabres have hit a lull of their own over the last 10 games, going 4-6 in that stretch, but the more heightened side of things is the two wins in the last seven games since January 9th. Buffalo has lost games to Philadelphia Chicago and almost the New York Islanders. But on the night that they retired Ryan Miller's jersey, the savers got just enough for a 3-2 overtime victory over the Islanders on Thursday.
Alex Tuch scored, and Rasmus Dahlin had two assists, including the game-winner to Dylan Cozens in overtime.
"That was a crazy pass," Cozens said. "We just kind of locked eye contact when I was curling and I just tried to get going as fast as I could. He made a football pass to me, a little Hail Mary, and I somehow managed to handle it."
Don't make any mistake about it. There is still plenty of time for Buffalo to make a run at a playoff spot. They are six games back of the Pittsburgh Penguins for the final wild card spot and have a game in hand, as well as three games in hand from the Islanders and Panthers who are above them in points. Buffalo still has plenty of time to try and make a run out of this, but the margin is razor thin when you consider how Buffalo is played over these last seven games. It has not been the best of situations.
"Big game, big night," Dahlin said. "We were very happy to do this for him, and it was something special tonight. We really wanted to win this game and we had a ton of chances. We could have been frustrated but we just kept going and we had the confidence for 60 minutes."
Prediction
Buffalo has the talent, the firepower, and the better goaltending to take out the Ducks. I like Buffalo in this instance. Sabres 5, Ducks 2
Betting trends
Road team is 8-2 in the last 10 meetings.
Ducks have won four of the last five in Buffalo.
Sabres are 27-25 in non-conference games the last 2 seasons.
Projected lines
Ducks:
Adam Henrique -- Mason McTavish -- Troy Terry
Max Comtois -- Trevor Zegras -- Ryan Strome
Frank Vatrano -- Sam Carrick -- Jakob Silfverberg
Max Jones -- Isac Lundestrom -- Brett Leason
Cam Fowler -- Dmitry Kulikov
Simon Benoit -- John Klingberg
Urho Vaakanainen -- Kevin Shattenkirk
John Gibson
Sabres:
Jeff Skinner -- Tage Thompson -- Alex Tuch
JJ Peterka -- Dylan Cozens -- Jack Quinn
Casey Mittelstadt -- Tyson Jost -- Victor Olofsson
Zemgus Girgensons -- Peyton Krebs -- Kyle Okposo
Mattias Samuelsson -- Rasmus Dahlin
Owen Power -- Henri Jokiharju
Jacob Bryson -- Ilya Lyubushkin
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
Don't miss our champion handicappers' free picks and expert hockey picks today. And if you enjoyed this Anaheim Ducks - Buffalo Sabres prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our daily NHL projections and previews.
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.
