The Buffalo Sabres (33-33-5) take on the Calgary Flames (33-31-5) in the second meeting for the season on Sunday, March 24 at 9:00 PM ET at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, AB. The Sabres are slightly favored on the road, with a moneyline at -115.

The Sabres have lost their last two games and need to find consistency. Their latest defeat was an 8-3 blowout against the Edmonton Oilers, where they allowed five unanswered goals in the third period alone. 

They are showing to be a coin flip on the road with a 16-16-4 record. They will need to rely on players like Jeff Skinner to get their offensive numbers moving along, as he leads them in scoring with 24 goals.

The Sabres are hovering around 2.96 goals a game while taking 31.2 shots a game. Their power play percentage is a little weak with a power play percentage at 16.3, but it is slightly higher than the Flames’ average.

They are allowing their opponents to get up 3.01 goals on 29.1 shots a game. The only area defensively that might hurt them is their penalty kill percentage, which comes in slightly lower at 78.9.

The Flames have also lost their last two games, with their most recent defeat being a 4-2 outing against the Vancouver Canucks. This also marked their second game in allowing four goals or more.

They are nearly a toss up at home, with their current record showing 18-16-1. They are 2-2 in their last four home games, which means they could easily slip up here.

The Flames are getting up 3.12 goals and 31.1 shot attempts each game. They are aggressive on the offensive end to some degree, but they lack a strong power play percentage at 14.5. You cannot land 31 power play goals and absorb 35 defensively if you want to be successful.

Their defense is also not as appealing as the Sabres, as they are giving up 3.19 goals on 30.2 shot attempts per matchup. They have allowed more goals in their last two losses than their current abersge shows on defense, making them a weaker defensive team entering this game.

MyBookie showcases the best NHL odds, with the Buffalo Sabres currently favored to win. The last time these two met was back in October of last year, where the Flames won 4-3 on the road.

One key difference for this matchup will be on the defensive end, as the Flames are vulnerable in this battle. If the Sabres can come out strong to set the tone early, they have arguably the best chance at success.