Washington Capitals at Buffalo Sabres Betting Odds
Opening Moneyline: Washington -130 / Buffalo +110 O/U 6 goals
Time: 7 PM EST Wednesday March 3, 2010 on Versus
In the first game back for both teams after the Olympic break the Buffalo Sabres host the Washington Capitals. The Caps have the best record in the NHL and are a top the Eastern Conference and the Sabres are in 5th place in the East. Both teams did not enter the break playing well, as the Capitals lost 3 in a row and the Sabres were only 3-5-2 in their last 10 games.
This season the Sabres are 19-7-6 at home and the Capitals are 18-10-5 on the road.
In their last game before the break Washington lost to the St. Louis Blues 4-3 in a shootout and Buffalo lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2.
The Capitals have the highest scoring offense in the league averaging an impressive 3.92 goals per game. They are led by Alex Ovechkin, who leads the NHL in points (89) and goals (42) and he may have a little chip on his shoulder after he and team Russia flamed out in the Olympics after being a medal favorite.
The Capitals' offense will be facing a solid Sabres' defense, which is only giving up an average of 2.43 goals per game, and the hottest goalie on the planet.
Buffalo G Ryan Miller (30 wins 2.16 GAA save percentage 93%) won the MVP of the Olympic tournament going 5-1 with a minute GAA of 1.35. He will have to play well to thwart Capitals and their high-scoring offense tonight.
Miller is 10-5-0 with a 2.59 career GAA against Washington.
The Sabres have a decent offense ranking 14th in the league in scoring (2.76 goals per game).
The G situation in Washington is up in the air, as starter Semyon Varlamov (12 wins 2.44 GAA save percentage 91.6%) gave up 6 goals in his last game, which was his first after missing 2 months with an injury. Backup Jose Theodore (20 wins 2.94 GAA save percentage 90.6%) is 10-0-2 in his last 12 starts.
Varlamov was in between the pipes against the Sabres and played great in a 2-0 win in the beginning of the season.
Washington is 4-1 in their last 5 games against teams with a winning record, and has an Over record of 12-3-1 in their last 16 road games, and an Over record of 17-6-3 in their last 26 games against teams with a winning record.
Buffalo is 1-7 in their last 8 games, has an Under record of 3-1-1 in their last 5 games, and an Under record of 12-3-1 in their last 16 home games against teams with a winning road record.
In the last 4 games between these 2 teams in Buffalo the Under record is 3-0-1.
Our Selection : Will Buffalo's Ryan Miller be able to carry over his steller play that we saw in the Olympic tournament going 5-1 with a minute GAA of 1.35. Miller is 10-5-0 with a 2.59 career GAA against Washington. Buffalo has an Under record of 3-1-1 in their last 5 games, and an Under record of 12-3-1 in their last 16 home games against teams with a winning road record. In the last 4 games between these 2 teams in Buffalo the Under record is 3-0-1. Take Under 6 goals.
Future Betting Odds
NHL Handicapping
Tampa Bay Lightning at Boston Bruins 5-17
The Boston Bruins need to play much better in game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Bruins lost the opener 5-2 at home and can ill-afford to fall behind 2-0 to Lightning. Tampa Bay are on quite a roll, winning their last eight in a row in the playoffs. The oddsmaker at Bodog have the Bruins as a -145 favorite to even-up the series.