Sabres vs Canucks Prediction NHL Picks 3/19/24

Vancouver Canucks (42-18-8) vs Buffalo Sabres (32-31-5)

Game Info: Tuesday, March 19, 2024 at 10:00 pm (Rogers Arena)

Betting Odds: Vancouver Canucks -192 / Buffalo Sabres +150 --- Over/Under: 6.5

The Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks meet Tuesday in NHL action at the Rogers Arena. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Buffalo Sabres vs Vancouver Canucks prediction.

Buffalo Sabres Betting Preview

The Buffalo Sabres recently beat the Islanders and Kraken while losing to the Red Wings. The Buffalo Sabres are averaging 2.93 goals per game and are scoring on 17.1 percent of their power play opportunities. Jeff Skinner leads Buffalo with 24 goals, Rasmus Dahlin has 35 assists and Tage Thompson has 207 shots on goal. Defensively, the Buffalo Sabres are allowing 2.96 goals per game and are killing 79.1 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Devon Levi has given up 62 goals on 571 shots faced, while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has allowed 101 goals on 1,193 shots.

Vancouver Canucks Betting Preview

The Vancouver Canucks recently beat the Jets while losing to the Avalanche and Capitals. The Vancouver Canucks are averaging 3.5 goals per game and are scoring on 22.5 percent of their power play opportunities. Brock Boeser leads Vancouver with 36 goals, Quinn Hughes has 64 assists and Elias Pettersson has 180 shots on goal. Defensively, the Vancouver Canucks are allowing 2.68 goals per game and are killing 78.6 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Thatcher Demko has given up 119 goals on 1,427 shots faced, and Casey DeSmith has allowed 57 goals on 557 shots.

Vancouver Canucks Player Prop Facts

• J.T. Miller has scored a goal in three of the Canucks' last four games as favorites.
• J.T. Miller has recorded at least one assist in seven of the Canucks' last eight home games against Atlantic Division opponents.
• J.T. Miller has recorded at least one point in each of the Canucks' last eight home games against Atlantic Division opponents.
• Elias Pettersson ranks T1st in the league for Game Winning Goals (9) this season.

Buffalo Sabres Player Prop Facts

• Tage Thompson has scored a goal in three of the Sabres' last four games against Pacific Division opponents.
• Jeff Skinner has recorded at least one point in seven of his last eight appearances against the Canucks.
• Victor Olofsson has recorded an assist in each of his four previous appearances with his team as an underdog against the Canucks.
• Rasmus Dahlin ranks 1st in the Eastern Conference for average time on ice (25:41) this season.

Matchup/League Facts

• The Vancouver Canucks are the only team in the league to rank top 5 for both goals for and goals against per game this season.
• The Vancouver Canucks rank 5th in the league for goals per game this season (3.50).
• The Buffalo Sabres rank 26th in the league in power play percentage this season (16.92%).
• The Buffalo Sabres rank 31st in the league for Period 1 goals allowed per game this season (1.16).

Buffalo Sabres vs Vancouver Canucks prediction

The Vancouver Canucks should be favored at home, where they're 21-7-4 on the season. However, the Sabres have played well over the last couple of weeks, and that includes wins in each of their last three games as underdogs. The Sabres are fighting for their slim playoff hopes, and a win here would do wonders to improve those odds. The Canucks and Sabres usually play tight games, which includes overtime games in three of their last 9 meetings. I'll take a shot to make 1.5 times my money to side with a Sabres team in good form. 

The pick in this article is the opinion of the writer, not a PickDawgz site consensus.