There was no way the Buffalo Sabres were going to be denied in Game 1.
Playing in front of a sellout crowd that had endured an NHL-record 15-year drought between playoff appearances, the Sabres stormed back from a 2-0 deficit in the third period to win the curtain-raiser against the Boston Bruins.
Buffalo and Boston go right back at it in Western New York on Tuesday night. The Sabres are -162 favorites to get the win.
Sabres vs. Bruins Game 2 odds, prediction
We saw the strengths of both teams on display in the Sabres’ 4-3 victory on Sunday.
For the Bruins, they got all-world goaltending from Jeremy Swayman, who frustrated the Sabres high-octane offense until Tage Thompson finally found the breakthrough 12 minutes into the third period.
Boston’s clinical attack was also on display, as the B’s found the back of the net twice on 18 shots. It’s also noteworthy that eight of Boston’s 13 scoring chances at 5-on-5 were graded as high-danger opportunities. The Bruins may not generate a ton of looks, but their pre-shot movement and passing often lead to quality looks.
Meanwhile, Buffalo’s attack was on full display all night long. It may have taken the Sabres 52 minutes to solve Swayman, but they hurled 38 shots at Boston’s net, and generated 4.44 expected goals on 70 shot attempts.
Betting on the NHL?
There were some concerns that perhaps the Sabres would grip their sticks too tightly in their first playoff game since the first Obama administration, but that was not the case.
I don’t expect that to change in Game 2.
From the drop of the puck, you can expect the Sabres to be on the front foot with the intention of turning this into a track meet. Boston would be better served by trying to gum up the works and slow things down, but the Bruins didn’t give us much reason to believe they could do that in Game 1.
And some pond hockey may not be the worst thing in the world for Boston. Buffalo may have the more dangerous offense, but the B’s have an all-world goaltender, and these back-and-forth games in the playoffs often come down to which goalie makes one more save. I’d be happy to take Swayman over Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in that battle.
Perhaps the Sabres are able to blitz the Bruins out of the building, but the price on Boston is already in a tempting range, and there’s a good chance we continue to see money come in on Buffalo as the bandwagon fills up ahead of puck drop.
The Plays: Over 6.5 (+114) | Bruins moneyline (+145, DraftKings)
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
