Blues vs Sabres Picks, Predictions & Odds Tonight

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10 February 2024

Blues vs Sabres Picks, Predictions & Odds Tonight

The Blues have been idle for 10 days, but they return to the ice in Buffalo for an afternoon tilt with the struggling Sabres. Look for St. Louis to pounce on this vulnerable defense early.

The St. Louis Blues are back in action following a 10-day layoff and will look to keep their hot streak going as underdogs in the NHL odds when they visit the Buffalo Sabres at Keybank Center.

The Blues went into the All-Star break with five wins in their last six games while scoring four goals in four of those contests. They’re being led by Robert Thomas, who’s picked up a team-best eight points over that span.

Will St. Louis continue its high-scoring ways en route to another win? Find out in my Blues vs. Sabres NHL picks and predictions for Saturday, February 10.

Blues vs Sabres odds

Blues vs Sabres predictions

The St. Louis Blues fell 1-0 to the Blue Jackets in their final game before the All-Star break but had been rolling prior to that defeat, racking up five straight wins while averaging 3.8 goals per game in those contests.

The Blues have notched the first goal in three of their last five games and I’ll look for them to continue that trend against the Buffalo Sabres this afternoon as my best bet.

Buffalo has been one of the worst first-period teams in the NHL this season, giving up a league-worst 63 goals against in the opening frame – seven more than any other club. The Sabres’ minus-28 goal differential in the first period is also tied with the Sharks for worst in the NHL, while no other team is worse than minus-15.

The Blues are not a particularly high-scoring team in the opening frame with 45 first-period goals this season (T-18th), but they have scored at least once in the opening 20 minutes in five of their last seven contests. The Sabres have also allowed the opening goal in 30 of 50 games this season, tied for second-most in the NHL behind only the Devils (35).

Jake Neighbours has been particularly lethal early on for St. Louis with five of his 15 goals standing as game-opening tallies, so we’ll see if he plays a role in notching the first goal today.

My best bet: Blues to score first goal (+100 at PROLINE+)

Blues vs Sabres same-game parlay

I’ll go back to the Blues for today’s same-game parlay as I look for them to pick up two points while also cashing the Over on 6.5 total goals.

St. Louis has been one of the league’s hottest teams since January 20 with 10 points over that span, trailing only Vegas (11) and Dallas (11) for top spot. Buffalo is down at the opposite end of the standings since that date with a 2-3-0 record, ranking them above only five other teams.

These clubs tend to put up tons of goals against each other, too, with the Over going 8-0 in their last eight meetings. Each of their last eight head-to-head matchups has featured at least six goals, and seven of those games featured seven or more tallies.

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Blues vs Sabres moneyline and Over/Under analysis

The Sabres come into this afternoon’s contest as the home favorite but I think this matchup presents a good opportunity to go with the Blues as the road dog at +114.

St. Louis has been putting the puck in the net at a solid clip over its last six games, scoring at least three goals in five of those contests and four goals in four of them. Buffalo, meanwhile, has been pretty inconsistent, netting five goals in each of its last two wins but averaging just 1.67 GPG in its last six contests outside of the five-goal outbursts.

Special teams is another area where the Blues could find an edge as they’ve converted on nearly 30% of their power play chances during their 5-1-0 run. They’ll be skating against a Sabres team that’s operating at 80% on the penalty kill this season, ranking 16th in the league.

Today’s total opened at 6 goals and the Over looks like the clear play to me. As mentioned, the Blues have pretty much been a lock for three if not four goals during their hot streak and they should find some success against a Sabres squad that’s given up three or more tallies in three of their last five outings.

Neither team has been spectacular defensively this season with the Blues (3.10 GAPG) and the Sabres (3.12 GAPG) ranking 17th and 18th, respectively, so both clubs will have their chances to put some pucks in the net.

The Over is 4-1 in St. Louis’ last five games while cashing seven times in its last 10 contests. The Over has also cashed in two of Buffalo’s last three outings.