Buffalo Sabres vs. Boston Bruins Series Odds
Bruins +150
Sabres -180

Goals will be at a premium in this series. Boston has scored fewer goals than every team in the league with the exception of Calgary. The fact that they made the playoffs and earned a No. 6 seed tells you a lot about their defense and goalie Tuukka Rask.

The Sabres don’t exactly have a slouch in net, either. They are the fourth-best defensive team thanks to Olympic hero Ryan Miller in net. Every game in this series is likely to have a total of five.

The season series between these two teams has been split right down the middle with Boston winning three and Buffalo taking three. Out of those six games no game featured more than five combined goals. The ‘under’ could be a safe bet throughout this entire series.

Neither team has much of a power play, but both teams’ penalty kills rank in the Top 3. Do not expect special teams in this series to make much of a difference.

Buffalo has not been to the playoffs since their run to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2007. Boston and, specifically, Tim Thomas have more experience in the form of back-to-back trips to the playoffs. Last season they swept Montreal in the first round before taking Carolina to seven games in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Sabres have the playoff experience, but this series could very well come down to who plays better against a mirror image of itself. As mentioned, these are two of the top five teams in the NHL in terms of goals allowed per game. Against the other three teams in the Top 5
(New Jersey, Phoenix and Chicago), Boston is 1-6 and Buffalo is 5-2.

Of all the statistical matchups in this series, that is the most relevant.

Buffalo Sabres vs. Boston Bruins Series Prediction
Buffalo in five

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