Sabres vs. Blue Jackets predictions, player props & picks for April 14th

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Tonight marks the final night of the regular season before the 2023 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs begin on Friday, April 17. One of the two games left to be played takes place in Columbus with the Blue Jackets hosting the Buffalo Sabres. This will be the third meeting between these Eastern Conference opponents to end their 2023 campaigns.

Although this matchup doesn’t have playoff implications, our experts have provided their Sabres vs. Blue Jackets predictions to go along with a breakdown of how new members can claim a guaranteed $200 bonus by joining Bet365 Sportsbook.

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Unfortunately for Buffalo and Columbus fans, we won’t be seeing either of these teams in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but they’ve provided us with electric matchups this season. Their two meetings have ended with 13 and 8 goals, so it’s no surprise that we’re focused on another high-scoring game and taking the over seven goals tonight.

Starting with the Sabres, their calling card all season has been their explosive offense led by Tage Thompson. He’s had a career year and is the primary reason for Buffalo scoring the fourth-highest goals per game this season. You’d think such a high-scoring squad would be in the postseason, but their goaltending has let them down.

Buffalo has allowed 3.65 goals per game this season, which is the sixth-most in the NHL. However, that’s nothing compared to the Jackets. Columbus’ goaltending has been awful all season, but even more so as of late. Since March 1, they’ve allowed a ridiculous 5.16 goals per game, which is easily the most in the league. With them taking the ice just wanting to get to the offseason as quickly as possible, we’re confident taking the over seven goals as the first part of our Sabres vs. Blue Jackets predictions.

If you’re one that prefers to bet on player props rather than totals (over/unders) or sides, we’ve got you covered there as well. The next part of our Sabres vs. Blue Jackets predictions focused on two Sabres skaters.

We mentioned that Thompson was leading this Sabres offense, but head coach Don Granato has already announced he won’t be in the lineup for this finale. Therefore, we’ll be targeting his two linemates. It’s worth noting that Thompson went off against Columbus earlier in the season with a ridiculous five-goal, six-point game.

With him off the ice, it will be Alex Tuch who gets more shots on goal. He just had five last night and has the second-most goals on the team with 35. Tuch has also scored a goal in two of his last three games against the Jackets, including the most recent. He may not reach that 40-goal mark, but after seeing Thompson score five goals against Columbus, it’s not out of the question.

One of the key pieces that has helped Thompson and Tuch have such great goal-scoring seasons is veteran Jeff Skinner. He skates on the top line with them and loves dishing out helpers. In Thompson’s five-goal game against the Jackets, Skinner assisted him on four of those goals. He’s also recorded at least one assist in five of his last six games against Columbus.

With that type of recent success against tonight’s opponent, we’ll round out our Sabres vs. Blue Jackets predictions with Tuch to score a goal and Skinner to record an assist.

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If you would like to stick with our Sabres vs. Blue Jackets predictions, the total is currently listed at seven goals with +100 odds to the over at Bet365 Sportsbook. That means a $10 wager would profit $10 as long as eight or more goals are scored. If you want to fade our Sabres vs. Blue Jackets predictions, the under seven goals comes with a -120 price, so a $12 wager profits $10 if the game ends with six or fewer goals. If exactly seven goals are scored, wagers on both sides are graded as a push and all bets are refunded.

As for the player props involved in our Sabres vs. Blue Jackets predictions, Tuch to score a goal is currently listed at +115 odds, while Skinner to record an assist comes with a +120 price. Finally, if you’d prefer to pick a winner, Buffalo’s money line is listed at -170 odds, while Columbus comes with a +150 price. No matter which market you prefer, betting on it with just $1 guarantees you $200 in bonus bets when youcreate a new account at Bet365 Sportsbook.

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