Tampa Bay Lightning vs Buffalo Sabres Betting Pick & Prediction 4/5/25

Making on a bet on this NHL game featuring the Lightning versus the Sabres? The puck drops at 7:00 ET, and you can watch it all unfold on ESPN+. The game will be played at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY. In this division matchup, the Lightning are favored by -1.5 against the Sabres. The over/under for the game is 6.5 goals.

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING VS BUFFALO SABRES BETTING PICK

The Pick: Buffalo Sabres +1.5

This game will be played at KeyBank Center at 7:00 ET on Saturday, April 5th.

WHY BET THE BUFFALO SABRES:

• Despite being 1.5 goal underdogs, we predict the Sabres to come out on top with a final score of 4-3.
• We like the Sabres on the moneyline (+164)
• The Sabres are also our pick on the spread at +1.5

Will the Lightning Pull Through as the Favored Road Team?

The Lightning fell to 44-26-5 after a 7-4 loss to the Jets. Tampa Bay held a 2-0 lead early on, but Winnipeg responded with seven goals, including two empty-netters, to secure the win. The total line was set at 6.5 goals, and the 11 combined goals easily surpassed that mark. Tampa Bay, as underdogs on the puck line, failed to cover.

Tampa Bay’s defense struggled, allowing four goals in the third period. They had four different players score in the game, but it wasn’t enough to keep up with Winnipeg’s offense.

Brandon Hagel opened the scoring for the Lightning with his seventh goal of the season, followed by Brayden Point’s eighth, which came on a power play. Mitchell Chaffee added his fourth goal, while Nikita Kucherov netted his 10th, unassisted, to tie the game 4-4 in the third period.

The Lightning took 30 shots on goal and recorded eight giveaways. They scored twice in the first period, added a third goal in the second, and found the net for the final time with 13:09 left in the game.

Tampa Bay’s defense struggled late, allowing four goals in the 3rd period, including two empty-netters. The Lightning had tied the game at 4-4, but their defense gave up the go-ahead goal with 7:38 left in the 3rd. Jonas Johansson finished with a save percentage of 84.4% on 32 shots from the Jets.

Will Buffalo Win at Home?

Buffalo fell to 32-36-6 after a 2-1 loss to the Red Wings. The Sabres were underdogs on the puck line, and the total was set at 6.5 goals, but both teams combined for only 3.

Alex Tuch put the Sabres on the board first with a short-handed goal at 11:39 in the first period. However, Buffalo’s defense faltered in the second, allowing two power-play goals from Dylan Larkin.

Buffalo’s offense took 32 shots on goal but only managed to score once in their 2-1 loss to the Red Wings. Alex Tuch netted his 5th goal of the season, scoring on a shorthanded opportunity 8:21 into the first period. The Sabres had 13 giveaways in the game.

Despite their 32 shots, Buffalo was unable to find the net after Tuch’s early goal. The Sabres did not record any assists in the game.

Buffalo’s defense gave up two goals in their last game, both of which came in the second period on the power play. Goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen finished with 21 saves and a 91.3% save percentage. The Sabres’ defense also recorded 5 takeaways and 17 hits.