Do the Sabres have the wind at their sails after their 8-3 romp over the Canadiens in Game 6 Saturday night?
It’s a coin toss at this point, what goaltender Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff opts to go with for tonight’s Game 7 against the Montreal Canadiens.
The Sabres have swapped out their goalies – Alex Lyon and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen – four times during the series, including mid-game switches the past two games.
In Game 6 Saturday night in Montreal, the Canadiens stormed out to a 3-1 lead early, Ruff switched goalies 10 minutes in, then the Sabres stormed back to win 8-3.
“When you get put in, it doesn’t really matter how many shots you see,” said Luukkonen to Canadian Press. “You just try to find a way to get comfortable in the net and be ready for the next shot. I feel like, as a goalie, you kind of have to think that you’re almost playing with house money at that point.
“You kind of want to just do your best to help your team win. You can’t overcomplicate things. You have to go just one shot at a time.”
Jack Quinn led the Sabres with two goals Saturday night.
Sabres are 6-3-1, averaging 3.5 goals, 5.8 assists, 5.3 penalties and 14.8 penalty minutes while giving up 2.7 goals per game in their last 10.
Canadiens are 5-4-1, averaging 3.1 goals, 5.3 assists, 6.1 penalties and 19 penalty minutes while giving up 2.7 goals per game in their last 10.
BEST BETS
Montreal Canadiens at Buffalo Sabres, 7:30 p.m. EST, KeyBank Center, Buffalo
In NHL betting, at Betway, the Sabres are slight betting favourites, -115 on the Moneyline, with the Canadiens -105. ATS: Canadiens +1.5 (-300), Sabres -1.5 (+225). Over/Under is 5.5 (O +100, U -120).
Sabres Moneyline (-115)
Buffalo is the better regular season team, and despite the Canadiens’ strong showings at KeyBank Center in this series so far, the Sabres’ elite talent, Rasmus Dahlin, Tage Thompson and Luukkonen show up in the big way tonight.
Home teams win Game 7s historically, and the Sabres have the momentum after that 8-3 rout in Game 6. The home crowd is going to be a determining factor tonight.
Over 5.5 (+110)
There has been a lot of goals this series – 45 through six games. The Sabres went 4-for-6 on the power play in Game 6, so that’s clicking again, after slumping for most of the playoffs. The Sabres’ power play is now at 20.8%, seventh in the NHL.
Game 7s tighten up, with better goaltending and tighter defence. The Canadiens will go with Jakub Dobes, and the Sabres Lyon or Luukkonen.
Both teams have proven they can play low-scoring, low-event hockey when it matters.
Just not tonight. There were nine goals in Game 5, then 11 in Game 6. But 5.5 with plus-odds?
Neither team has been elite in the nets, which explains Ruff’s goalie switches.
Rasmus Dahlin To Score Over 0.5 Points (-180)
Dahlin is a superstar and has been dominating the series offensively. He had a beautiful goal in tight early in Game 6, finishing up with five points overall. Just unstoppable.
Stars usually dictate outcomes in pressure games like this, and Dahlin, who drives the offence from the back end, won’t disappoint with the home crowd behind him tonight.
If you feel a little daffy, Betway has the odds at +225 that Dahlin ends up with 2+ Points.
I am actually going to parlay this one tonight – Sabres ML, Over 5.5, Dahlin Over 0.5 Points.
