Sabres vs Sharks Prediction, Preview, Odds, and Picks Feb 18
Sabres Hope To Feast on Sharks
The Buffalo Sabres are attempting to reach the postseason for the first time since 2011 and a road victory over the struggling San Jose Sharks on Saturday night is a must in that quest.
The Sabres sit five points behind the New York Islanders for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with games in hand on all five teams ahead of them in the wild-card race.
Buffalo righted its ship after four straight losses with a 7-3 drubbing of the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday as 14 different players registered at least a point. The Sabres improved their road record to 16-8-2 and are now an impressive 17-9-2 against Western Conference teams.
According to the NHL conference odds, the Sabres are currently +550 to make the playoffs and -900 to come up short.
Most of the discussion around San Jose these days has been about what Sharks general manager Mike Grier will do before the trade deadline on March 3 to rebuild for the future. San Jose is 3-3-2 overall in its last eight games overall, but owns only five wins in 25 contests at home in 2022-23.
Thompson Approaching 40
The Sabres continue to get big production from their young players, led by 25-year-old center Tage Thompson.
The University of Connecticut product notched his 36th goal in the win over the Ducks, leaving him two shy of his career-high total last season. Thompson is third in the league in goal scoring behind only Connor McDavid and David Pastrnak to top a Buffalo offense that ranks second in the NHL (3.70 per contest).
Thompson has 19 goals in 28 games – 10 on the power play — against teams in the West this season and All-Star defenseman Rasmus Dahlin boasts 35 of his career-high 58 points versus the West in 28 contests with a +20 rating.
The Sabres can score consistently, but they have often struggled in net and rank 25th in the league in goals-against (3.47) while sitting 30th in penalty killing (72.8 percent).
The over is 5-0 in the last five Buffalo games against the Pacific Division and 6-1 when the Sabres have two days rest, according to NHL betting lines.
Buffalo is +5000 to win the East, according to Las Vegas NHL odds.
Sharks Look to Future
San Jose was 7-for-7 on the penalty kill, but allowed the go-ahead goal with 18 seconds left Thursday in a 2-1 loss at the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Sharks have managed seven goals in their last four games (1-3-0) after posting 16 total during a 2-0-2 stretch.
The Last Vegas NHL odds total went under in the last four games overall for San Jose and is 4-0 in the past four Sharks contests on one days rest.
With San Jose far out of the playoff race, there has been plenty of talk about trades. Leading goal scorer Timo Meier,(31), an unrestricted free agent after the season, is the most likely to be dealt to a contender.
There have also been rumors about the availability of Norris Trophy candidate Erik Karlsson, who has had a big comeback season with 18 goals and 73 points to lead all defensemen in the league.
Sabres vs Sharks Game Injuries
Sabres vs Sharks Head-to-Head
Rookie Jack Quinn scored twice as host Buffalo recorded five of the last six goals in a 6-3 triumph on Dec. 4 for its fourth victory in the last six meetings with the Sharks.
The Sabres have the carrot of a playoff berth in front of them and can score with the best teams in the league while San Jose is 29th in the NHL in goals-against (3.64).
However, the Sabres are just 1-4-0 in their last five visits to San Jose and the home team has won eight of the past 11 meetings.
The NHL betting lines went over in four of the last five meetings, including the matchup in December..
Sabres vs Sharks Game Information
- Game: Sabres (27-22-4) vs Sharks (17-28-11)
- Day/Time: Saturday, Feb 18, 10:30 p.m. ET
- Location: SAP Center, San Jose, Calif.
- Sabres vs Sharks Live Stream: NHL TV
Sabres vs Sharks Betting Lines
Sabres vs Sharks Picks and Prediction
San Jose showed some grit Thursday, taking a 1-0 lead into the third period, but coach David Quinn was not pleased with the team’s approach in the final 20 minutes.
Quinn will likely have the Sharks a bit more focused and goalie Kaapo Kahkonen has been solid in his last five starts, going 3-2-0 with a .929 save percentage.
But if you bet online, Buffalo just may have gotten their mojo back with a big effort in Anaheim and will need these two points with a tough schedule ahead including games with playoff-bound Toronto and Tampa Bay next week.
The Sabres are listed at -125 in our Las Vegas NHL odds. This means that if you wager $100 on Buffalo, you have a chance to win 80. The Sharks are +105, offering a chance to win 105 on a $100 wager.
The implied probability attached to the betting lines gives the Sabres a 55.56% chance to win, with San Jose at 48.78%.
