Sabres vs. Sharks: Projected Lines, Betting Odds, How to Watch & More

The logistics have been a mess. We’ve had a schedule change, travel delays, and weather questions ahead of this Monday matinee as the Buffalo Sabres take on the San Jose Sharks. The Sabres (18-21-4) have had to face a shutout defeat and a winter storm. The Sharks (10-30-3) have been stuck in Ottawa awaiting a clear time to fly into the Queen City.

Must Read: Demko Blanks Sabres in a Storm

The result is still what was intended for today – a hockey game. The Sabres have been better as of late, and have a must-win matchup against the NHL’s worst team. The Sharks are coming off a 5-4 loss to the Senators after only managing 18 shots on goal. They have a historically bad -90 goal-differential, which means they’re losing games by over two goals on average.

How to Watch

Gametime: 12:00 p.m. ET

Location: KeyBank Center (Buffalo, NY)

TV: MSG (Buffalo); NBCSCA (San Jose)

Stream: MSG+; ESPN+ (Out-of-market)

Radio: WGR550

The Sabres

Not scoring and not playing well are not always one in the same, and Buffalo had a spirited effort against one of the league’s top teams on Saturday. The Canucks were the better team, however, and barely edged them out in a goaltending battle.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s performance earned him the start in today’s game. He turned away 24 of the 25 shots faced, and gave the Sabres more than enough room to win.

Must Read: Sabres Grades: Luukkonen Shined; Buffalo Couldn’t Produce

The Sabres should not have a problem scoring in today’s contest, as the Sharks are giving up the most goals in the league. The team’s top scorers, starting with Tage Thompson, will need to establish offensive dominance early and set the right tone for the game.

The Sharks

The Sharks roster is reminiscent of the tank-era Sabres, as you’ll be hard-pressed to find names you’ll recognize. Tomas Hertl is the team’s All-Star representative, with 13 goals and 30 points in 42 games. Other names you might recognize are a collection of fading players, such as Mikael Granlund, Mike Hoffman, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, and Anthony Duclair.

One notable San Jose roster addition this season is former Sabre and Buffalo-born Justin Bailey, who signed in-season with the team. Bailey has received rave reviews for providing a spark to the team, and it’s good to see the Buffalonian getting another NHL shot and another game at KeyBank Center.

Kaapo Kahkonen has been announced as the team’s starting goalie today by head coach David Quinn. He is 5-12-0 with a 3.70 goals-against average and a .897 save percentage this season.

For the San Jose Sharks point of view, be sure to check out SJ Hockey Now

Injury Report

Buffalo

• Mattias Samuelsson (Upper Body) Day-to-Day
• Jeff Skinner (Upper Body) Week-to-Week

San Jose

• Logan Couture (Lower Body) Day-to-Day [IR]
• Ty Emberson (Undisclosed) Out
• Givani Smith (Lower Body) Out [IR]
• Jacob MacDonald (Lower Body) Out [IR]
• Nico Sturm (Abdomen) Out [IR]
• Matt Benning (Hip) Out [IR]

Buffalo Sabres

Casey Mittelstadt – Tage Thompson – Alex Tuch

JJ Peterka – Dylan Cozens – Jack Quinn

Jordan Greenway – Jordan Greenway – Eric Robinson

Zemgus Girgensons – Peyton Krebs – Kyle Okposo

Rasmus Dahlin – Henri Jokiharju

Owen Power – Erik Johnson

Ryan Johnson – Connor Clifton

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (Confirmed)

Lineup Source: PuckLuck Projected

Goalie Source: Joe Yerdon, Noted Hockey

San Jose Sharks

William Eklund – Tomas Hertl – Mike Hoffman

Anthony Duclair – Mikael Granlund – Fabian Zetterlund

Josh Bailey – Luke Kunin – Alex Barabanov

Filip Zadina – Ryan Carpenter – Kevin Labanc

Mario Ferraro – Kyle Burroughs

Henry Thrun – Jan Rutta

Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Calen Addison

Kaapo Kahkonen (Confirmed)

Lineup Source: PuckLuck Projected

Goalie Source: Sheng Peng, SJ Hockey Now

Betting Odds Breakdown

The Sabres are heavily favored today over the Sharks, both by the PuckLuck model and at the sportsbooks. A 69% chance of winning today is nice, but the sportsbooks are implying around a 72% chance for Buffalo to walk away victorious.

On the San Jose side, they’re listed around +210 on the books. Obviously +219 per the model is better, but it’s not enough edge to bet given room for error and uncertainty around the lineups.

The total goals is where the betting edge is today, as we crushed the under last game. A similar low-scoring projection on the docket, so that’s where we’re looking to profit on this Monday matinee.

For more betting analysis across the NHL, be sure to head over to PuckLuck.com.

*PuckLuck.com provides data related to gambling and cannot guarantee the success of any suggested or related wagers. Please gamble responsibly.*