After a light 4-game slate on Friday night, we're back with plenty of action today. We've even got afternoon hockey to get things started early. Not only are we targeting that game, we've broken down 3 of our favorite plays for all of today's action. We're backing teams to cover the puck line so there should be lopsided victories by the end of the night. Before we dive in, be sure to check out our NHL picks for today's action.
Florida Panthers -1.5 (+130) over Buffalo Sabres
Let's get things started with a team that came through for us in their season opener. The Panthers were able to handle the New York Islanders in a 2-goal victory on the road. They won't have to travel far to take on the Sabres this afternoon and this game should end in similar fashion. Florida made one of the biggest offseason acquisitions with the addition of former-Flame Matthew Tkachuk, and it immediately paid off.'
Tkachuk scored a goal in his team debut while also looking solid on the defensive end of the ice. That's where the Panthers needed to make the most improvement and it looked strong to start. They held the Islanders to just a single goal and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky leads the NHL in goals saved above expected after the first week of games. He was 4th in the category last season and now has better defenders in front of him. Florida was even able to cover the puck line on Thursday night without Aleksander Barkov contributing, which is a rarity. Florida won all 4 meetings against Buffalo last season with 3 coming by multiple goals, so let's start off our mega parlay with the high-flying cats.