Sabres vs. Islanders: Projected Lines, Betting Odds, How to Watch & More 3/14/24

The Buffalo Sabres [31-30-5] host the New York Islanders [29-21-14] in another important matchup on Thursday. For the second game in a row, the Sabres face the team that occupies the final Wild Card spot. The Islanders benefited from Buffalo’s victory over the Red Wings on Tuesday, as they leapfrogged Detroit in the standings.

Must Read: Sabres Explode for Seven in Victory Over Red Wings

How to Watch

Gametime: 7:00 p.m. ET

Location: KeyBank Center (Buffalo, NY)

TV: MSG (Buffalo); MSGSN (New York)

Stream: MSG+

Radio: WGR550

The Sabres

The Sabres have vaulted into the playoff discussion, but have a lot ahead of them to take care of to solidify their push. A regulation win over the Islanders would qualify as another big swing game.

Head Coach Don Granato likes the fearlessness he’s seeing from his players, specifically Zemgus Girgensons. Since joining Buffalo’s presumed top line with Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch, Girgensons has brought a direct, downhill game to a line that needed a spark.

On Tuesday, the Sabres had an 86% shots-for percentage and 87% expected goals percentage with Girgensons on the ice.

The tale in net is exactly as you may expect, as Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen worked in the starter’s end during Buffalo’s optional morning skate.

The Islanders

The Islanders have a new bench boss since the last time the Sabres saw them. Patrick Roy took over as the Islanders’ head coach on January 20th, and New York has gone 10-6-3 since then.

Roy is undoubtedly a motivator and will prepare the team to come out firing today. Since taking over the Islanders have shifted their focus to playing in the offensive zone, resulting in nearly six fewer shots conceded per game.

Coaching defense through offense may not be Lou Lamouriello’s typical style, but there’s no question it’s working.

Injury Report

Buffalo

• Jack Quinn (Lower Body) Out Indefinitely [IR]
• Mattias Samuelsson (Upper Body) Out For Season [IR]

New York

• Matt Martin (Lower Body) Day-to-Day
• Robert Bortuzzo (Lower Body) Day-to-Day [IR]
• Scott Mayfield (Lower Body) Out [IR]

Projected Lines

Buffalo Sabres

Zemgus Girgensons – Tage Thompson – Alex Tuch

Jordan Greenway – Dylan Cozens – Zach Benson

Jeff Skinner – Peyton Krebs – JJ Peterka

Eric Robinson – Tyson Jost – Victor Olofsson

Bowen Byram – Rasmus Dahlin

Owen Power – Henri Jokiharju

Jacob Bryson – Connor Clifton

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (Confirmed)

New York Islanders

Brock Nelson – Bo Horvat – Mathew Barzal

Anders Lee – Jean-Gabriel Pageau – Kyle Palmieri

Pierre Engvall – Casey Cizikas – Simon Holmstrom

Matt Martin – Kyle MacLean – Cal Clutterbuck

Adam Pelech – Noah Dobson

Alex Romanov – Ryan Pulock

Mike Reilly – Sebastian Aho

Ilya Sorkin (Confirmed)

Lineup Source: Projected

Goalie Source: Andrew Gross, Newsday

Betting Odds Breakdown

There’s not a lot of betting edge on such a tight game, as the sportsbooks and PuckLuck are pretty much in sync on the projections. The moneyline and puckline at your preferred sportsbook will likely bounce between which team is the favorite and which team is the underdog throughout the day, as will the PuckLuck model.

Your best bet will likely be on the over, as this isn’t your ma and pa’s Islanders. They’re looking to score.

The Sabres have been generating a lot of shots at home as well and just dropped seven goals on Tuesday.

For more betting analysis across the NHL, 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.*