The Tampa Bay Lightning will travel to Buffalo, New York to face the Buffalo Sabres at the KeyBank Center with the puck scheduled to drop at 12:30 PM ET on Saturday afternoon and will air on MSG Buffalo.

Tampa Bay has not been as great as we are used to seeing them be over the last few seasons as they enter this game in 5^th place in the Atlantic Division with a record of 23-17-5 and 51 points which also puts them in 8^th place in the Eastern Conference but are on a four-game winning streak and have won five of their last six games following a 7-3 win at home against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday. 

The Lightning have been slightly above average offensive with an average of 3.32 goals per game which ranks 13^th in the league, however, they have the best power-play success rate in the NHL at 29.71%. Nikita Kucherov has been one of the best players in the NHL this season as he enters this game leading the team in goals, assists, and points with 28 goals, 47 assists, and 75 points with the goals being the 4^th most, the assists being the 2^nd most, and the points being the most in the league this year. 

Defensively, the Lightning have struggled as they rank 24^th in the NHL in goals allowed per game with an average of 3.39 goals allowed per game. The Tampa Bay Lightning will look to extend their winning streak to five games when they travel to face the Buffalo Sabres.

The Buffalo Sabres have been one of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference this season with a record of 20-21-4 and 44 points which puts them in 7^th place in the Atlantic Division and gives them the 3^rd worst record in the conference, however, they have won three of their last four games and are on a two-game winning streak following a 3-0 shutout win at home against the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday. 

The Sabres have been below-average offensively this season as they are averaging 2.95 goals per game which ranks 22^nd in the league and rank 26^th in power-play success rate with a 14.4% power-play success rate. Defensively, Buffalo has also been below average as they rank 20^th in goals allowed per game with an average of 3.25 goals allowed per game. 

Casey Mittelstadt has been one of the better players on the team as he leads the team in assists and points with 27 assists and 39 points. The Buffalo Sabres will look to extend their winning streak to three games when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon.

BookMaker has the Tampa Bay Lightning listed as -120 moneyline favorites on the road against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon. Tampa Bay is 6-2-2 in the last ten while Buffalo has won the previous three meetings. The Lightning have won by an average margin of 1 goal per game over the last ten while the Sabres have won by an average margin of 1.33 goals per game over the last three games in the series.

Tampa Bay enters this game with a better record, however, they have struggled on the road this season and have lost their two road games including a 3-7 loss against the Bruins. The Sabres have also been the better team most recently in the series, winning the previous three matchups and have won by an average margin of 1.33 goals per game in those contests. As a result, I am taking the moneyline for the Buffalo Sabres at +100 when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon.