Buffalo Sabres vs New York Islanders - Odds and Predictions

How to Watch

Where: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New York

When: Saturday, December 14th at 1:00 PM EST

How (TV/Radio): Buffalo TV/Radio: MSGB, WGR 550 AM. New York Islanders TV/Radio: SNY, ESPN NY 1050 AM.

Team Notes

Buffalo Sabres

Buffalo is hanging onto the 7th spot in the Eastern Conference with Montreal, just three points ahead of four teams looking to get into the top eight.

The Sabres are 6-8-3 on the road this season and have a plus-4 overall goal differential.

Buffalo’s odds are long at +4000 to take the Eastern Conference and +8000 to win the Stanley Cup.

New York Islanders

The Islanders continue to play strong after a terrific November, sitting in third place in the East with a plus-17 goal differential.

New York is 12-2-1 at home this season and are one of just four teams in the NHL to reach that number of home wins.

The New York Islanders’ odds have lowered to +1000 to win the East and +2000 to win the Stanley Cup.

Goalie Notes

New York Islanders: Semyon Varlamov & Thomas Greiss

Varlamov has taken the starting role for the Islanders, starting four games in December, allowing just four goals during the month.

Greiss has allowed three goals in four of his last five starts this season.
Varlamov has won four of his last five starts with two shutouts and two games allowing just one goal over the five-game stretch.
Greiss has lost three of his last four starts, all on the road, surrendering nine goals over his four games between the pipes.

Buffalo Sabres: Linus Ullmark (9-6-2, 2.83 goals allowed)

Ullmark has won four of his last five starts, allowing 13 goals over the five-game span.

In his last four starts, Ullmark has saved shots at a 93.2% clip and allowed two or fewer goals three times over this span.
On the road, Ullmark has won four of his nine starts, allowing 3.13 goals per away game.
Against East opponents this year, Ullmark has allowed 2.69 goals per game with a 92.6% save percentage.

Stats to Watch

New York Islanders

Despite their spectacular home record, New York is averaging 3.27 goals per home game, good for 15th in the league, but are 30th in shots taken per home game at 28.7 per contest.
New York is three of 13 on the power play in December, ranking them 10th in the NHL in total PP goals.
The Islanders are scoring 3 goals a game this month against the 2.20 goals they are allowing.
Nick Leddy is day-to-day with a lower-body injury but has returned to practice on Wednesday and could play in the Buffalo game.

Buffalo Sabres

Buffalo is scoring 2.65 goals per road game, but are allowing 3.41 goals. The club is averaging 30.5 goals per road contest, good for 17th in the NHL.
Buffalo has scored three power-play goals in 19 opportunities, an average of 15.8% success rate in December.
The Sabres are scoring 4.60 goals per game in December on just 28.8 shots per contest.
Defensemen Rasmus Dahlin has been cleared for contact as he looks to return from a concussion. He is currently on injured reserve.

Last Five Games

New York Islanders

New York has won five straight at the Nassau Coliseum, with two wins coming in overtime.
After losing three in a row at the end of November, the Islanders have won four of six contests, posting eight points over the streak.
Over the last six games, New York has scored 14 goals in their four wins and three goals in the two losses.

Buffalo Sabres

Buffalo has won three of their last five games but posted five points in their last three contests.
The Sabres have lost four of their last five games on the road with the lone win coming in overtime against Edmonton last Sunday.
Buffalo has scored three or more goals in their last five games.