Sabres vs. Kings: Projected Lines, Betting Odds, How to Watch & More 2/13/24

The Buffalo Sabres [22-25-4] will don their black and red jerseys as the Los Angeles Kings [24-15-10] come into town. Effort and psyche have been the buzzwords all week, with the Sabres needing more effort to get into scoring situations but are maintaining the right mentality in doing so.

Buffalo will be without top-minutes eater Owen Power on the blueline tonight, as head coach Don Granato confirmed Tuesday morning on WGR 550 radio. According to Granato, Power is out for “probably the next few games”. While the injury is not believed to be long-term, the coach said he will miss “at least a week”.

Must Read: Owen Power Leaves Practice With An Injury

How to Watch

Gametime: 7:00 p.m. ET

Location: KeyBank Center (Buffalo, NY)

TV: MSG (Buffalo); BSW (Los Angeles)

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

Radio: WGR550

The Sabres

The Sabres held an optional morning skate, so the defense pairs without Owen Power are yet to be determined. Henri Jokiharju has assumed the powerplay role in place of Power and Rasmus Dahlin in the past, and will likely be the fill-in on special teams for the foreseeable future.

Jacob Bryson will draw into the lineup in Power’s absence, as will Victor Olofsson per Granato. Buffalo is desperate to find a goal-scoring spark, and Olofsson’s shot can make a difference even in limited minutes.

Must Read: Getting to Scoring Areas an ‘Issue’ Against Blues

The Kings

Los Angeles is currently holding down the top Wild Card spot in the Western Conference, with a +24 goal-differential. The Kings dropped their last meeting with the Sabres 5-3 at home, and their struggles there cost Todd McLellan his job.

The players remain essentially the same from the January 24th matchup, with one possible addition. Viktor Arvidsson rotated in with the Kings’ top-six forward group at practice yesterday. The forward has yet to play this season but is a key contributor at even strength and on the powerplay for the team.

He has not yet been medically cleared to play, but he is “getting close” per coach Jim Hiller.

Injury Report

Buffalo

• Owen Power (Hand) Week-to-Week
• Jack Quinn (Lower Body) Out 5-7 Weeks
• Mattias Samuelsson (Upper Body) Out For Season [IR]

Los Angeles

• Viktor Arvidsson (Back) Day-to-Day [IR]
• Blake Lizotte (Lower Body) Day-to-Day [IR]
• Pheonix Copley (Knee) Out For Season [IR]

Buffalo Sabres

Jeff Skinner – Tage Thompson – Kyle Okposo

Zach Benson – Dylan Cozens – JJ Peterka

Jordan Greenway – Casey Mittelstadt – Alex Tuch

Zemgus Girgensons – Peyton Krebs – Victor Olofsson

Rasmus Dahlin – Henri Jokiharju

Ryan Johnson – Connor Clifton

Jacob Bryson – Erik Johnson

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (Confirmed)

Los Angeles Kings

Quinton Byfield – Anze Kopitar – Adrian Kempe

Trevor Moore – Phillip Danault – Kevin Fiala

Alex Laferriere – Pierre-Luc Dubois – Jaret Anderson-Dolan

Carl Grundstrom – Alex Turcotte – Trevor Lewis

Mikey Anderson – Drew Doughty

Vladislav Gavrikov – Matt Roy

Andreas Englund – Jordan Spence

David Rittich (Projected)

Lineup Source: PuckLuck Projected

Goalie Source: PuckLuck Projected

Betting Odds Breakdown

The Sabres are home underdogs tonight against the Kings, which is no surprise given both teams’ records and the Owen Power injury. The PuckLuck model agrees with the sportsbooks on Buffalo having about a 47% chance of winning, leaving no room to bet either team on the moneyline.

The game total, which has been very profitable through the model, is showing an edge on the under in this game. The Sabres have had trouble scoring lately to support the outstanding goaltending of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. The Kings have a lot of defensive-minded players in their lineup, although they’ve had to outscore their goaltending issues this season.

The projected low score also leaves a little room to wager the Sabres on the puckline, if you so choose. Low-scoring games have a much greater chance of an outcome within a goal difference, making the +1.5 puckline enticing.

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.*