NHL Thursday best bets: Sabres to shine at home
Thursday features a busy 11-game NHL slate. Let's waste no time in getting to our best bets.
Red Wings (+140) @ Sabres (-165)
The Red Wings deserve a lot of credit for their comeback road win against the Penguins on Wednesday night - but they're still a team to attack.
Detroit has played poorly of late. The team has controlled just over 38% of all high-danger scoring chances at five-on-five over its last 10 games, better than only the Canadiens and Ducks.
The Red Wings have struggled at both ends of the ice over that span, ranking bottom five in both chance generation and prevention.
Though the Sabres aren't contenders, they're certainly capable of causing Detroit problems.
Buffalo's defense is surprisingly potent when healthy, so the imminent return of Owen Power will be huge. Led by Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch, Dylan Cozens, and Rasmus Dahlin, among others, the Sabres are also making noise on offense - especially on home ice.
Buffalo ranks second in goals per 60 minutes at home this season and is averaging a whopping 3.98 tallies through 17 games at KeyBank Center. After a taxing overtime victory, the Red Wings now have to travel and try to slow that offense down.
That's a difficult task, especially after starting netminder Ville Husso played against the Penguins - at least until they chased him; he isn't as fresh as he normally would be heading into a start.
This underrated Sabres offense is going to cause all kinds of issues for a pedestrian and fatigued Red Wings defense.
Look for Buffalo to take care of business in 60 minutes.
Bet: Sabres in regulation (+100)
Rangers (+110) @ Lightning (-130)
The Lightning enter this contest fresh off a Wednesday win over lowly Montreal, but the Rangers appear to be hitting their stride. They've won eight of their last 10 games and rediscovered the formula that made them so successful last season.
While their overall numbers still leave plenty to be desired, the Rangers are excelling in a few key areas.
New York has played well defensively during this winning spell, ranking top 10 in high-danger scoring chances against per 60 minutes at five-on-five. It's very difficult to score on Igor Shesterkin when opportunities are few and far between.
The power play has also found new life. The Rangers have averaged more than 10 goals per 60 minutes on the man advantage over their last 10 outings. It's a small sample size, but that rate is higher than it was last season when New York's power play was among the league's best.
The Rangers' power play is clicking right now, and Tampa Bay sometimes struggles with discipline; that could create opportunities for New York to make some noise with the man advantage.
The Rangers should also benefit from a substantial edge in goal. Shesterkin hasn't been as dominant this season as he was last year, but he remains one of the NHL's best netminders. His Lightning counterpart, Brian Elliott, owns an .894 save percentage on the year and has conceded 20 goals over his last six games.
With a hot power play, a superior goaltender, and a rest advantage, the Rangers offer value as healthy underdogs in this game.
Bet: Rangers (+110)
Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.