NHL Odds - Sabres at Blue Jackets Game Preview

The Columbus Blue Jackets are favored at home on Wednesday night, as they host the Buffalo Sabres on NBCSN. The Sabres are in a tough spot, as they will be playing with no rest, having played at home to Detroit on Tuesday, while the Blue Jackets have not played since Saturday. Columbus has also won three of the last four in this series against Buffalo. The matchups between the teams in Columbus are usually high scoring, as six of the last eight have gone over the total.

At 8 p.m. ET, tune into NBCSN for live television coverage of this NHL game on Wednesday, October 25, 2017, at Nationwide Arena.

We'll have NHL odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NHL Wednesday schedule.

Odds Analysis

The Sabres are definitely in a bad spot playing with no rest, but they have been better this season on the road than at home. They are 2-4 on the road, and while that doesn’t sound good, they were 0-3 in their first three home games. Buffalo has also won both of their previous situations this season playing with no rest, as they won at Anaheim 3-1 and they just beat Boston 5-4 in overtime on Saturday.

The Blue Jackets are coming off a 6-4 loss to Los Angeles on Saturday. Columbus had their chances in that contest, but they gave up a goal with just over two minutes left and then an empty net goal to lose 6-4. Columbus has now lost two in a row, after winning four straight. Columbus is 2-2 at home this season, with three of the four going under the total.

Special Teams

Buffalo is not doing much right this season, as they are scoring just 2.8 goals per game and giving up 3.9 per contest. Buffalo simply doesn’t have a good defense, and their goaltending duo of Robin Lehner and Chad Johnson isn’t very good. Their power play is below average at 22^nd in the league, while they are 15^th in penalty killing.

The Blue Jackets are scoring 3.1 goals per game, while giving up 2.6 per contest. They are a pathetic 29^th in the league on the power play at 9.1%, while they are 10^th in penalty killing at 83.3%. Columbus is led on offense by newcomer Artemi Panarin who has 9 points, while in goal the Blue Jackets have the stalwart Sergei Bobrovsky, who has a goals against average of 2.16.

Key Stat

The teams have split their last five meetings, but Columbus has won three of the last four, with three of the last five going under the total. The teams met three times last season and it was Columbus winning 3-1 and 4-3 at home, while the Sabres won 5-3 in Buffalo. Columbus has won six of the last ten at home in this series, with six of the last eight going over the total.

Free NHL Picks

It is never easy in the NHL or the NBA to play on back-to-back nights, especially when the second game is on the road. That is the case for Buffalo on Wednesday night. There are two factors that make it even tougher for the Sabres. First, despite what NBCSN is advertising for Wednesday night, this is not a rivalry game. These teams don’t play in the same division and they are not rivals. It is always easier to get up for a rival playing with no rest, but that is not the case for Buffalo here. Second, the Blue Jackets have dropped two straight games and they have a lot more rest, having not played since Saturday. Columbus will be extremely focused for this game and will not be taking Buffalo lightly. I will lay the price and take the Blue Jackets on Wednesday night.

NHL Odds: Blue Jackets 4, Sabres 1

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