The injury-riddled and freefalling Buffalo Sabres get to go on the road and face the Toronto Maple Leafs. Uh, yeah, that’s going to be a tough one.
The Buffalo Sabres at least stopped one streak last Saturday, having earned a point in their loss to the New York Rangers. And now, the beaten, battered, and banged up Sabres face the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The good news? They may have Alex Tuch back for this one. The bad? Rasmus Dahlin may be ruled out by the time you read this, though he is listed day-to-day. Further, Mattias Samuelsson is week-to-week, suffering yet another injury that will keep him out for an extended time.
It’s never good to see stars go down with injuries, but when you got ground to make up in a playoff race where you’re hanging on by a few shoestring threads, it’s nothing short of debilitating. But strange things can happen, so let’s go over the odds and make a prediction here.
Buffalo Sabres vs. Maple Leafs Odds – Game 66
Per Fan Duel, the Buffalo Sabres are +1.5 favorites on the road against the Maple Leafs. The Over/Under is 6.5, and the Sabres moneyline is +205. The Maple Leafs moneyline is -255.
Buffalo Sabres vs. Maple Leafs Prediction – Game 66
Injuries, injuries, and more injuries. That’s a good way to define the Sabres lately. The good news in all this is, if they figure out a way to stay healthy, then this time next season, they could find themselves sticking around the wild card race even longer. I mean, they knocked off both Florida teams on the road, so that should tell you how good this team really is when they got all the pieces in place.
But for the here and now, given the number of injuries on the roster, it would be outlandish for me to predict the Sabres actually win this thing. If Tuch and Dahlin can both go, there is a chance. But as I said, Buffalo could rule them out by the time you read this.
If they can’t go, I don’t like their chances in this one. In fact, if Dahlin can’t go and Tuch can, I still don’t like their chances unless the Skinner-Tage-Tuch line can score as many goals on the Leafs as the Dallas Stars scored on the Sabres last Thursday.
(Game odds update regularly and are subject to change)