Take A Shot On 1 Of 16 NHL Games Tonight

Stars vs. Sabers, 7:00 ET

The NBA starts tonight, which is my favorite sport to watch, follow, and bet on. However, if you took a gander over at the list of NHL games for today you'd… um… be surprised to see how many games are happening. I don't know if it was intentional, but the NHL decided to put every team in action with 16 games and the puck dropping at 6:00 ET. Regardless of if they're trying to steal the thunder of the NBA, there are some really good matchups tonight. I started covering hockey for Outkick a few years ago and had great success. Last year was not successful though. Let's put our first play of the season here as the Dallas Stars take on the Buffalo Sabers. 

The Stars are off to a great start for their season with a 5-1-0 record, including a 1-1-0 record away from their home ice. This is a bit of an odd travel schedule for them lately as they were at home, then went to Washington, then had a home game, and are now traveling to Buffalo. Travel doesn't seem to hurt teams like it does in the NBA, but there is still fatigue that will come into play. For the season, Dallas has been great on defense. They are allowing more shots against them per game - almost by four - which is a recipe for disaster. However, they are allowing just 1.5 goals against them this season. This season, the Stars have two shutouts, and have allowed three or fewer goals in every game. In fact, they've only allowed three goals in two of the games. It isn't just one goalie either, both Jake Oettinger and Casey DeSmith have been outstanding to this point. I won't say the Stars are lighting it up offensively though. They are shooting just 26 times per game, and haven't scored more than four goals in a game this season. They've only scored four goals twice this year. It is likely that Oettinger gets the start here and I think he has a good chance to keep the Sabers off the board. Last season he faced them twice and allowed just three goals, boasting a .957 save percentage.

Oct 19, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA;  Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (1) and center Jiri Kulich (20) hug after the third period against the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images

The Sabers are not enjoying the start to this season quite as much as Dallas. Coming into today, the team has a 2-4-1 record and is just 1-2-0 on the home ice. Their travel schedule wasn't too bad as they went from Pittsburgh, to Columbus, to Chicago, and now back home. They have lost three of their past five games, but their offense has been pretty good in most of these games. The Sabers have put the puck in the back of the net at least four times in four consecutive games now. I wouldn't consider the defense they faced in any of those games, outside of maybe the Panthers game, to be a great defense. For the season, they are averaging three goals per game and allowing almost four. They are shooting 27 times compared to 30 for their opponent. They are allowing a lot of goals on the Power Play already this season, and need to address that more than anything. Tonight, they probably put Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in the net. I don't want to type that name ever again, by the way. He is just 1-2-1 and has allowed 3.26 goals against per game with an .895 save percentage. However, most of the damage was done in one game. Half of his goals allowed game against the Penguins. He's allowed seven goals total in the other three games. 

Looking at the lines, there are some wild numbers out there. If you wanted to play the Sabres team total under 3.5, for example, the line is -255. That's outrageous considering the over 2.5 is -135 and under 2.5 is -105. I think overall the game should stay under six goals and that's the way I'm going to play it. Back the under 6 for the game between the Stars and Sabers. 

For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024