Sabres Gameday: The Bruins Are In Town As Buffalo Looks For Post-Christmas Cheer

The Buffalo Sabres (14-17-4) face the Boston Bruins (19-7-6) as they look to bounce-back from a pre-holiday break overtime loss in which they outplayed the New York Rangers at even-strength.

Where to Watch

Gametime: 7:30 p.m. ET

Location: KeyBank Center (Buffalo, NY)

TV: TNT

Stream: MAX

Radio: WGR550

The Sabres

The Sabres have reassembled a lineup and reverted to a style of play recently that reflects last season much more than the first 30 games of the season. The return of Jack Quinn helps bolster the top-six forward group and the team’s creativity on offense.

Devon Levi has seemingly reestablished himself as the team’s starter with some solid performances since being recalled from Rochester, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen struggling a bit of late. He is expected to start tonight.

The Opponent

The Bruins find themselves yet again atop the Atlantic Division with their strong foundation nearly unscathed by the loss of their former captain and perennial Selke Trophy nominee Patrice Bergeron.

The strong goaltending rotation has continued this season, with Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman taking turns nearly every other game this season. If the rotation holds true, then it is Jeremy Swayman’s turn to start tonight.

Injury Report

• Zemgus Girgensons (Lower Body) Day-to-Day [IR]

Projected Lineups

Buffalo Sabres

Jeff Skinner – Tage Thompson – Alex Tuch

JJ Peterka – Dylan Cozens – Jack Quinn

Jordan Greenway – Casey Mittelstadt – Zach Benson

Victor Olofsson – Peyton Krebs – Kyle Okposo

Rasmus Dahlin – Mattias Samuelsson

Owen Power – Ryan Johnson

Connor Clifton – Erik Johnson

Devon Levi (Confirmed)

Lineup Source: PuckLuck Projected

Goalie Source: Lance Lysowski, The Buffalo News

Boston Bruins

Brad Marchand – Pavel Zacha – David Pastrnak

James van Riemsdyk – Morgan Geekie – Jake DeBrusk

Danton Heinen – Charlie Coyle – Trent Frederic

Jakub Lauko – John Beecher – Oskar Steen

Mason Lohrei – Charlie McAvoy

Hampus Lindholm – Brandon Carlo

Parker Wotherspoon – Kevin Shattenkirk

Jeremy Swayman

Lineup Source: PuckLuck Projected

Goalie Source: PuckLuck Projected

Betting Breakdown

The Bruins are the betting favorite, but when sports betting we’re looking for an edge on what the sportsbooks are listing.

PuckLuck.com helps us determine a proper goal projection for the game, along with game simulations that help us arrive at a win probability percentage for each team.

There’s unfortunately not a lot of edge in this one, but if we had to lean somewhere the Sabres puckline (spread) shows the biggest edge. It’s listed at a consensus +1.5 goals at -198, meaning it will pay a little over 50 cents on the dollar if it hits.

A more bold play would be betting the Sabres straight on the moneyline, which mean if they win you will net $1.28 on the dollar.

Keep in mind that the betting lines can move throughout the day, as well as the PuckLuck projections as new information rolls in.