by Chuck Sommers
Tuesday, Feb 28, 2023
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Venue: TD Garden, Boston, MA
Where to watch: NESN, MSG-B, SNP, SNO, SNE
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
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FanDuel: Check back later for odds.
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Caesars: Check back later for odds.
Season record (entering Thursday)
Sabres: 31-23-4
Bruins: 46-8-5
The All-Star break is over, the second half of the NHL season can officially begin, and we're bound for what should be a very exciting second half of the hockey season. Basketball and hockey are about to rule the roost in the sports betting world once the Super Bowl is done with, and we should all be very excited for what's to come. When the trade deadline hits and players switch teams, you know things are about to get hectic over these final 30 games or so. One way you can stay tuned with the action is following what our champion handicappers are doing in the world of the NHL. Look at ASA, Inc., reeling in a $6,750 profit off a 17-9-0 run. Al McMordie is also doing well on the ice with a 13-5-0 run and a net profit of $6,050. Scott Rickenbach has also been hanging strong with a lot of betting action, in what's been an unusual year, with a 24-18-0 run and reeling in $5,950. You know this action is going to be great now that games are back and a busy second half if on the horizon. All you need to do is head to our BEST BETS page at bigal.com to find out all of what we're trying to tell you. Make sure you're locked in at bigal.com and go to our Best Bets page to find out what our champion handicappers have to say in the world of the NHL!
Sabres - Bruins preview, prediction and analysis
The Buffalo Sabres will be playing the Boston Bruins on Thursday, March 2 in Boston, Massachusetts.
The Buffalo Sabres won against the Washington Capitals on Sunday, February 26 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo with a score of 7-4. The Buffalo Sabres currently rank 4th in the Atlantic Division.
Dylan Cozens scored his first NHL hat trick and had an assist for the Buffalo Sabres. Tage Thompson scored his 40th goal of the season, Vinnie Hinostroza had a goal and an assist, and Jack Quinn and Casey Mittelstadt each had two assists for the Sabres (31-23-4), who have won five of six. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 26 saves.
Buffalo played without forward Alex Tuch, who is week to week with a lower-body injury, and defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, who is day to day with an undisclosed injury.
"I think everyone stepped up," Thompson said. "We knew that was a big game. Those were important points for us. We have a group that's really hungry in here to succeed and I think everyone in here takes that to heart. I think we are confident with the group that we have, and we knew that we can win this game."
Cozens gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead at 10:40 of the first after Mittelstadt found him streaking into the slot. Dylan Strome tied it 1-1 from the left hash marks at 14:45.
Thompson put the Sabres back in front 2-1 at 16:35 after intercepting Evgeny Kuznetsov's pass above the circles.
"It's a good feeling," Thompson said of scoring 40 goals. "I think you obviously set goals for yourself at the beginning of the season, and that is something that I wanted to see if I could get this year. It's kind of one of those things now, I guess, where you reach it and now you change your goal, and now it's a little further ahead and try to chase that one now."
T.J. Oshie scored 15 seconds later from below the left circle to tie it a 2-2 game at 16:50.
Jeff Skinner responded for the Sabres to make it 3-2 at 5:49 of the second when he poked in a rebound. Zemgus Girgensons then pushed it to 4-2 at 8:36 after he was left alone in front.
Hinostroza, who was recalled from Rochester of the American Hockey League prior to the game, scored from the right circle to extend the lead to 5-2 at 10:07. Cozens made it 6-2 at 12:49, taking a cross-ice pass from Quinn and shooting blocker side on Lindgren.
"That was an unbelievable pass by [Quinn]," Cozens said. "I called for it when I was in the D-zone just to let him know I was coming up that wing. He just [drew] everyone to him and then kicked it to me, so it was a great play by him."
Alex Ovechkin scored on a rebound in front to cut it to 6-3 at 15:49, and Sonny Milano made it 6-4 with a breakaway on a power play at 18:40.
Cozens completed the hat trick at 11:52 of the third for the 7-4 final.
"It looked like he was in sync and feeling good about his game," Sabres coach Don Granato said. "Obviously, incredible pace. … He definitely had his feet moving today. You could tell he felt good and speed, the impact he had, a lot of it was speed. He could've had one or two more as well."
The Buffalo Sabres have won five of their last 10 games and this will be the second night of a back-to-back.
The Boston Bruins won against the Edmonton Oilers on Monday, February 27 at Rogers Place in Edmonton with a score of 3-2. The Boston Bruins currently rank 1st in the Atlantic Division.
Tomas Nosek, Nick Foligno and Pavel Zacha scored for the Bruins (46-8-5). Jeremy Swayman made 22 saves, and Dmitry Orlov got his first two assists since being acquired from the Washington Capitals in a three-team trade on Thursday.
"We're lucky that have four lines that can play and six 'D' every night," Boston coach Jim Montgomery said. "They're playing 11 forwards, but we can just roll out our lines. They have the match-up they wanted because they got last change, but we're OK with our fourth line being out there against McDavid."
Connor McDavid gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead at 2:17 of the first period. He received a stretch pass from Leon Draisaitl and scored five-hole from the left face-off circle. Nosek scored 13 second later to tie it 1-1, lifting a shot over Skinner's glove after the puck was redirected in front by Garnet Hathaway along the goal line.
Foligno put the Bruins ahead 2-1 at 15:06, finishing a give-and-go with Charlie Coyle.
"I think we're proud of our process and what's it's allowed us to do and be where we are, but I still think there's room to grow," Foligno said. "I still think there are little areas we can get better in. I'm not trying to sound tacky, it's just the reality of our team. I don't think anyone is satisfied here. I think we're really excited about our group, but I think we all know there is more to do. That's the mindset that's allowed us to have the success we've had."
McDavid tied it 2-2 at 12:20 of the second period during a 4-on-4. Klim Kostin won a race to beat out an icing and centered the puck to McDavid, who deked Swayman before tucking the puck into the open net.
Zacha put the Bruins back in front 3-2 at 19:30 of the second when he dove to knock the puck in over Skinner, who had attempted a poke check.
Boston limited Edmonton to eight shots in the third period to preserve the win.
"You win games in the third period. You understand that and you take pride in that," Swayman said. "That's something that you want to keep as an identity for our team, and we just have a little bit more to give. We all know it, and it's pretty special when we see it."
The Boston Bruins have won eight of their last 10 games as of February 27.
Prediction
With Buffalo playing the night before and getting a juggernaut Boston team this is going to be a tough one for the road team. Bruins 5, Sabres 2
The Buffalo Sabres won against the Washington Capitals on Sunday, February 26 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo with a score of 7-4. The Buffalo Sabres currently rank 4th in the Atlantic Division.
Dylan Cozens scored his first NHL hat trick and had an assist for the Buffalo Sabres. Tage Thompson scored his 40th goal of the season, Vinnie Hinostroza had a goal and an assist, and Jack Quinn and Casey Mittelstadt each had two assists for the Sabres (31-23-4), who have won five of six. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 26 saves.
Buffalo played without forward Alex Tuch, who is week to week with a lower-body injury, and defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, who is day to day with an undisclosed injury.
"I think everyone stepped up," Thompson said. "We knew that was a big game. Those were important points for us. We have a group that's really hungry in here to succeed and I think everyone in here takes that to heart. I think we are confident with the group that we have, and we knew that we can win this game."
Cozens gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead at 10:40 of the first after Mittelstadt found him streaking into the slot. Dylan Strome tied it 1-1 from the left hash marks at 14:45.
Thompson put the Sabres back in front 2-1 at 16:35 after intercepting Evgeny Kuznetsov's pass above the circles.
"It's a good feeling," Thompson said of scoring 40 goals. "I think you obviously set goals for yourself at the beginning of the season, and that is something that I wanted to see if I could get this year. It's kind of one of those things now, I guess, where you reach it and now you change your goal, and now it's a little further ahead and try to chase that one now."
T.J. Oshie scored 15 seconds later from below the left circle to tie it a 2-2 game at 16:50.
Jeff Skinner responded for the Sabres to make it 3-2 at 5:49 of the second when he poked in a rebound. Zemgus Girgensons then pushed it to 4-2 at 8:36 after he was left alone in front.
Hinostroza, who was recalled from Rochester of the American Hockey League prior to the game, scored from the right circle to extend the lead to 5-2 at 10:07. Cozens made it 6-2 at 12:49, taking a cross-ice pass from Quinn and shooting blocker side on Lindgren.
"That was an unbelievable pass by [Quinn]," Cozens said. "I called for it when I was in the D-zone just to let him know I was coming up that wing. He just [drew] everyone to him and then kicked it to me, so it was a great play by him."
Alex Ovechkin scored on a rebound in front to cut it to 6-3 at 15:49, and Sonny Milano made it 6-4 with a breakaway on a power play at 18:40.
Cozens completed the hat trick at 11:52 of the third for the 7-4 final.
"It looked like he was in sync and feeling good about his game," Sabres coach Don Granato said. "Obviously, incredible pace. … He definitely had his feet moving today. You could tell he felt good and speed, the impact he had, a lot of it was speed. He could've had one or two more as well."
The Buffalo Sabres have won five of their last 10 games and this will be the second night of a back-to-back.
The Boston Bruins won against the Edmonton Oilers on Monday, February 27 at Rogers Place in Edmonton with a score of 3-2. The Boston Bruins currently rank 1st in the Atlantic Division.
Tomas Nosek, Nick Foligno and Pavel Zacha scored for the Bruins (46-8-5). Jeremy Swayman made 22 saves, and Dmitry Orlov got his first two assists since being acquired from the Washington Capitals in a three-team trade on Thursday.
"We're lucky that have four lines that can play and six 'D' every night," Boston coach Jim Montgomery said. "They're playing 11 forwards, but we can just roll out our lines. They have the match-up they wanted because they got last change, but we're OK with our fourth line being out there against McDavid."
Connor McDavid gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead at 2:17 of the first period. He received a stretch pass from Leon Draisaitl and scored five-hole from the left face-off circle. Nosek scored 13 second later to tie it 1-1, lifting a shot over Skinner's glove after the puck was redirected in front by Garnet Hathaway along the goal line.
Foligno put the Bruins ahead 2-1 at 15:06, finishing a give-and-go with Charlie Coyle.
"I think we're proud of our process and what's it's allowed us to do and be where we are, but I still think there's room to grow," Foligno said. "I still think there are little areas we can get better in. I'm not trying to sound tacky, it's just the reality of our team. I don't think anyone is satisfied here. I think we're really excited about our group, but I think we all know there is more to do. That's the mindset that's allowed us to have the success we've had."
McDavid tied it 2-2 at 12:20 of the second period during a 4-on-4. Klim Kostin won a race to beat out an icing and centered the puck to McDavid, who deked Swayman before tucking the puck into the open net.
Zacha put the Bruins back in front 3-2 at 19:30 of the second when he dove to knock the puck in over Skinner, who had attempted a poke check.
Boston limited Edmonton to eight shots in the third period to preserve the win.
"You win games in the third period. You understand that and you take pride in that," Swayman said. "That's something that you want to keep as an identity for our team, and we just have a little bit more to give. We all know it, and it's pretty special when we see it."
The Boston Bruins have won eight of their last 10 games as of February 27.
Prediction
With Buffalo playing the night before and getting a juggernaut Boston team this is going to be a tough one for the road team. Bruins 5, Sabres 2
Betting trends
Check back later for trends.
Projected lines
Sabres:
Jeff Skinner -- Tage Thompson -- Jack Quinn
Casey Mittelstadt -- Dylan Cozens -- Vinnie Hinostroza
JJ Peterka -- Peyton Krebs -- Victor Olofsson
Zemgus Girgensons -- Tyson Jost -- Kyle Okposo
Owen Power -- Henri Jokiharju
Mattias Samuelsson -- Ilya Lyubushkin
Kale Clague -- Jacob Bryson
Craig Anderson
Eric Comrie
Jeff Skinner -- Tage Thompson -- Jack Quinn
Casey Mittelstadt -- Dylan Cozens -- Vinnie Hinostroza
JJ Peterka -- Peyton Krebs -- Victor Olofsson
Zemgus Girgensons -- Tyson Jost -- Kyle Okposo
Owen Power -- Henri Jokiharju
Mattias Samuelsson -- Ilya Lyubushkin
Kale Clague -- Jacob Bryson
Craig Anderson
Eric Comrie
Bruins:
Brad Marchand -- Patrice Bergeron -- Jake DeBrusk
Pavel Zacha -- David Krejci -- David Pastrnak
Nick Foligno -- Charlie Coyle -- Trent Frederic
A.J. Greer -- Tomas Nosek -- Garnet Hathaway
Dmitry Orlov -- Charlie McAvoy
Hampus Lindholm -- Brandon Carlo
Derek Forbort -- Connor Clifton
Jeremy Swayman
Brad Marchand -- Patrice Bergeron -- Jake DeBrusk
Pavel Zacha -- David Krejci -- David Pastrnak
Nick Foligno -- Charlie Coyle -- Trent Frederic
A.J. Greer -- Tomas Nosek -- Garnet Hathaway
Dmitry Orlov -- Charlie McAvoy
Hampus Lindholm -- Brandon Carlo
Derek Forbort -- Connor Clifton
Jeremy Swayman
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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.
