Face-off: 2100 ET, 18/03/2022
Arena: Scotiabank Saddledome
Calgary are hard to oppose as they bid to continue their hot streak on home ice by brushing aside Buffalo at Scotiabank Saddledome.
The Sabres have had some decent results recently but must back-up here after being mauled 6-1 by Edmonton last night, so the odds are stacked against them.
We reckon the hosts will be happy with a smooth success by exactly three goals at 4.2 in our Calgary Flames vs Buffalo Sabres predictions.
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Calgary Flames Odds
Calgary gave us a couple of nice pay-outs at 2.95 and 4.1 in our match preview of Wednesday’s 6-3 win over New Jersey at this venue.
Matthew Tkachuk had a goal and two assists, while Dillon Dube scored and helped set one up as the Flames won for the 17th time in 21 outings.
Head coach Darryl Sutter is a hard man to please, though, and he stated: “Didn’t like parts of our game.
“I didn’t like the penalties, I didn’t like the double minor, didn’t like the too many men, didn’t like the second goal – we just outscored our mistakes.”
The veteran boss may just have been playing mind games with his men in order to ensure they stay focused on topping the Pacific Division.
To be fair, though, the Flames were a bit loose at the back and will be keen to address that here, having conceded only two goals in their previous three victories.
Looking at the NHL odds, that makes 2.9 for Calgary to prevail in regular time and let in less than two scores a solid selection.
Buffalo Sabres Odds
Buffalo bounced back from ending February with six straight defeats by going 4-2-0 at the start of this month, including two wins over Toronto.
However, they couldn’t replicate the form of last weekend’s Heritage Classic success when thrashed 6-1 at Edmonton last night, which gave us another couple of winning bets.
“What I saw was what everybody else saw, that was not a very good game,” fumed coach Don Granato.
“They won the small area battles and we did not. We didn’t play with any pace whatsoever and that was the difference in the game.”
The Sabres are out of contention with regards to reaching the playoffs and can be expected to pick and choose their battles between now and the end of the season.
This feels like another tough task they could do without and we fear they will be on the back foot from the outset.
Let’s add 1.95 for Calgary to be ahead after the opening period to our NHL predictions.
Additional stats
Last result:
CALGARY 6-3 New Jersey
Edmonton 6-1 BUFFALO
Season head-to-head: Buffalo 0-5 Calgary
