The Islanders and Sabres may only be separated by two points in the standings, but the feeling around the teams is quite different right now.
Buffalo is red hot, making a charge up the standings, and its new general manager has signaled that the club will be aggressive at the trade deadline as it tries to break a 14-season playoff drought.
The Isles are scuffling and road weary after a 7-game road trip concluded with a drab loss to the Kraken in Seattle on Wednesday night.
Islanders vs. Sabres odds, prediction
Going 3-3-1 on a road trip that takes you across the continent may seem fine, but anybody who pays attention to the Islanders will tell you that the team was uninspiring for the majority of the journey and was lucky to get back home with a .500 record.
The Islanders have done a good job all season at putting out little fires before they spread, but it seems like they’re running out of steam.
Most of the forwards are in a scoring drought, and the defense has struggled to suppress scoring chances over the last month.
If it wasn’t for goaltender Ilya Sorokin and the heroics of Matthew Schaefer, this season would look a lot different on Long Island.
Betting on the NHL?
But the Isles are still in the mix, and currently sit in a playoff spot ahead of a crucial stretch of games before the Olympics.
Saturday’s test against Buffalo could be the toughest of the bunch. Not only is it the first game back home after a long road trip, but the Sabres are red hot and playing like a team with serious ambition.
Given how they’ve played lately, it’s hard to envision a path to success for the Islanders beyond bending-but-not-breaking, and then hoping that Sorokin can steal a result.
That’s not the type of recipe you want when you’re being asked to lay juice.
The Play: Sabres +102 (DraftKings)
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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.
