Face-off: 2200 ET, 20/03/2022
Arena: Rogers Arena
Vancouver have suffered an untimely dip in results but can get their bid for a wild card berth back on track by seeing off Buffalo.
The Sabres are enjoying an upturn in fortunes but are all but out of the playoffs race and this is the kind of contest the Canucks must come through.
We’re taking 2.1 for a home win by more than one clear goal in our Vancouver Canucks vs Buffalo Sabres predictions.
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Vancouver Canucks Odds
Vancouver began a seven-match homestand with an encouraging 5-3 triumph over Montreal and an overtime loss to Washington but have faltered since.
The Canucks did brush aside New Jersey 6-3 but have lost to Tampa Bay, Detroit and Calgary in front of their own fans.
Bruce Boudreau’s side went 5-0 down against the Flames but did at least finish on a positive note with consolation strikes from Matthew Highmore and Brock Boeser.
Bo Horvat also put forward the suggestion that Vancouver were a touch unfortunate to concede from a counter-attack after dominating the early stages of the second period.
The Canucks had the first six shots of the middle section and captain Horvat said: “Maybe if those go in it’s a different story.
“But when you’re down 3-0 going into the second, especially against a team like that, it’s hard to come back.”
Vancouver have done their best work in the third period this term, when they are 67-54 ahead, whereas Buffalo are 52-70 down in that section.
Looking at the NHL odds, that makes 1.95 for the Canucks to outscore their opponents over the closing 20 minutes a percentage pick.
Buffalo Sabres Odds
Admittedly, Buffalo have made a habit of upsetting the odds this month, beating Toronto twice, Minnesota, Vegas and Calgary in a 5-3-0 stretch.
Friday’s triumph over the Flames was a strange affair, with Tage Thompson taking advantage of a goalkeeping error to score the only goal 3:07 into overtime.
Dustin Tokarski made 24 saves for the Sabres but it was a pretty tepid effort from both teams as a whole.
Tokarski said the incentive had been to bounce back from a 6-1 drubbing at Edmonton the previous night.
“When you cheat the game, teams make you pay,” he commented. “That’s what happened in Edmonton. Here, we came in with the mindset to play hard and good things will follow.”
We just fear Buffalo’s form will go up and down now they have nothing to play for but pride and this could be the kind of contest where the intensity drops.
Vancouver’s wins tend to come in high-scoring affairs, so 3.1 for the Canucks to prevail in regular time and both sides to net at least twice completes our NHL predictions.
Additional stats
Last result:
VANCOUVER 2-5 Calgary
Calgary 0-1 BUFFALO (OT)
Season head-to-head: Buffalo 5-2 Vancouver
