- 1 Buffalo Sabres vs Vegas Golden Knights: two Sabres wins last March and a very different power play
- 2 Buffalo Sabres: 16.3% on the power play and a crease without Lyon
- 3 Vegas Golden Knights: 29.4% on the power play and Marner’s 11-game point streak
- 4 Free NHL Prediction: Buffalo Sabres vs Vegas Golden Knights
- 5 About our free predictions
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information changes
- 8 Your responsibility
- 9 Responsible gambling
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About visuals
Buffalo Sabres vs Vegas Golden Knights: two Sabres wins last March and a very different power play 
Buffalo beat Vegas twice in March, 3-2 at KeyBank Center on the 3rd and 2-0 in Las Vegas on the 17th, in a season the Sabres finished 50-23-9. Sunday’s meeting is the first since, and the two teams arrive in very different shape.
Puck drop is Sunday 8 November at 3:30pm ET at KeyBank Center. The Sabres are 7-5-3 and seventh in the Atlantic with 17 points, level with Detroit, while the Golden Knights are 10-5-2 and second in the Pacific with 22.
The rest gap favors the visitors. Vegas plays in Detroit on Thursday and then has Friday and Saturday off, while Buffalo hosts Columbus on Friday night and gets one day before this one.
The Sabres have been a better road team than a home team. They’re 4-1-3 away from KeyBank Center and 3-4-0 in it, and the most recent home game was a 2-1 loss to Ottawa on Wednesday in which both Senators goals came in the third period.
Vegas is 4-2-2 on the road and has won its last game away from home, 3-2 in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, with Hertl scoring the winner with 32 seconds left. No line had been posted at the time of writing.
Buffalo Sabres: 16.3% on the power play and a crease without Lyon 
Lindy Ruff’s team scores 2.93 goals a game and allows 3.40. That’s a long way from last season’s 109 points, and special teams account for a good part of it: a 16.3% power play, tied for 27th, and a 69.8% penalty kill, ranked 27th.
Tage Thompson leads with 10 goals and 17 points through 14 games, including five goals across two games in California last month. Quinn has eight goals and 14 points, Benson 13 points and Power 11 points.
The road trip at the end of October was the best stretch of the season, with 2-0 in San Jose, 7-6 in Anaheim and 3-2 in Los Angeles on consecutive stops. Ottawa ended that momentum on Wednesday, outshooting Buffalo 30-25 and winning the faceoff count 37-16.
Goaltending hasn’t helped. Luukkonen is 4-3-3 with a 3.40 goals-against average and an .874 save percentage, and Ellis came into Wednesday 3-1-0 with a 3.11 and an .880. Ellis then stopped 28 of 30 in the Ottawa loss, and Lyon is on injured reserve until at least 22 November.
Helenius (upper body) is listed until at least 17 November. Grzelcyk, Danforth and Rathbone are all on injured reserve with 8 November as their earliest date, so one or more could return for this game.
no renewal
Free for 2 weeks.
Vegas Golden Knights: 29.4% on the power play and Marner’s 11-game point streak 
Mitch Marner’s point streak reached 11 games on Tuesday in Pittsburgh. He has two goals and 16 assists, and he sits third on the team behind Eichel (22 points) and Mark Stone (10 goals, 19 points).
Ryan Craig’s power play converts at 29.4%, sixth in the NHL, with 15 goals on 51 chances, and it went 2-for-2 on Tuesday. Buffalo’s penalty kill has allowed about three goals in every 10 chances, so this is the sharpest edge either team has.
The Knights score 3.41 goals a game and allow 2.88. Hertl and Trevor Connelly have 11 points each, Barbashev has 11, and Connelly tied Tuesday’s game on a breakaway with 8:41 to go.
Vegas has its own penalty-kill trouble, at 73.9%, tied for 22nd. Buffalo’s power play is poorly placed to take advantage, and it went without a goal against Ottawa on Wednesday.
Hill is 6-2-0 with a 2.73 goals-against average and an .895 save percentage, and he stopped 23 of 25 in Pittsburgh. Hart is 4-3-2 with a 2.65 and an .893. Pietrangelo (hip) is listed until at least 1 July, Uchacz is listed until at least 15 November, and Wotherspoon until at least 8 November.
Probable lineup Buffalo Sabres: Not announced at time of publication
Probable lineup Vegas Golden Knights: Not announced at time of publication
Free NHL Prediction: Buffalo Sabres vs Vegas Golden Knights
Our prediction: Vegas Golden Knights to win
We’re taking Vegas on the strength of the special-teams gap and the schedule. A 29.4% power play against a 69.8% penalty kill is the widest mismatch in this game, and the Knights will have had two full days off against a Buffalo team that played Friday night.
Buffalo’s two wins last March and its 4-1-3 road form are the counterargument, though the second of those doesn’t apply at KeyBank Center, where the Sabres are under .500. A .874 save percentage from Luukkonen also leaves little room if Ellis isn’t the choice in net.
We’d check the Thursday result in Detroit and the goaltending on Sunday morning. We’d want a price of 1.45 or better once it’s posted.
in your pocket.
Real-time notifications & alerts
_________
About our free predictions
- What we publish on MathOdds are analyses, nothing more. We share a view, a reading of the moment, but never a guarantee. Sport remains what it is: unpredictable. A red card, an injury, a last-minute goal, and the script changes completely.
- Let’s be clear: there is no such thing as a risk-free bet. Even when it looks “obvious”, nothing ever is. And yes, that means you can lose. It’s even inevitable at some point.
- The smartest approach is to stay reasonable. Bet small, set a budget and stick to it. Never use money you need to live on. And above all: don’t chase your losses: that rarely ends well.
- A bet should remain a game, not a job or a source of income. If it starts taking up too much space in your daily life, causes stress or frustration, take a break. And if needed, talk to a support organisation: that’s what they’re there for.
- Ultimately, responsibility lies with you. Reading our content means accepting that risk exists and will never disappear, no matter how good the analysis.
- Essential reminder: gambling is prohibited for minors and must comply with the laws of your country. Need help? Visit begambleaware.org.
No commitment from us
Our predictions carry no contractual value. They have no legal standing. In short: you cannot rely on them to claim anything if a bet doesn’t come through.
Information changes
A prediction is always based on what we know at the time of writing. But between publication and kick-off, a lineup can change, a player picks up an injury, the weather turns, and the analysis can quickly be outdated. We cannot be held responsible for that.
Your responsibility
Before placing a bet, simply check that gambling is legal in your country. If it isn’t, that’s your responsibility, not ours.
Responsible gambling
We can’t say it enough: gamble responsibly. If you’re struggling to stay in control, don’t wait to seek help.
Legal age
MathOdds content is intended for adults only. By browsing here, you confirm you meet the legal age requirement for gambling in your jurisdiction.
About visuals
The images and logos of Buffalo Sabres and Vegas Golden Knights on MathOdds are used solely to illustrate our articles. They do not imply any official affiliation with a federation or sports organisation, and we claim no rights over them. Those rights belong to their original owners. If any visual raises a concern, contact us and it will be removed without delay.
Leave a Reply