Friday, January 2, 2015 at 7:00 PM ET

First Niagara Center in Buffalo

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On Friday night, the Florida Panthers will be going on the road to take on the struggling Buffalo Sabres. These two teams have played each other twice so far this season, with both teams picking up a home win

On Wednesday night, the Panthers lost for the second night in a row when the New York Rangers easily beat them 5-2 in Florida. The Panthers did score on one of their three power play chances in that loss, but they were also outshot 34-20.

The Panthers have had one of the better defenses in the Eastern Conference this season by giving up right around 2.5 goals per game. Center Nick Bjugstad currently leads the team in points with 21 by notching 13 goals and eight assists. Veteran netminder Roberto Luongo is now 14-7-7 with one shutout and a solid .923 save percentage.

The Sabres gave up three third-period goals to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday and ended up losing 5-1 at home. They had one of their worst offensive performances in that game, finishing with just 11 shots on goal.

Through 38 games this season, the Sabres have one of the worst scoring teams in the league and have scored on less than nine percent of their power plays. Goalie Michal Neuvirth has had a rough start to the season, going 3-8-1 with a .909 save percentage and a poor 3.29 GAA.

Florida Panthers Betting Trends

Florida Panthers are 16-19-0 Against the Spread

Florida Panthers are 13-15-0 against the Over/Under

Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

Buffalo Sabres are 14-24-0 Against the Spread

Buffalo Sabres are 19-13-0 against the Over/Under

Injuries to Watch

Florida Panthers

12/31/14 RW Tomas Kopecky Upper Body "?" Friday vs Buffalo
12/17/14 LW Shawn Thornton Groin out indefinitely

Buffalo Sabres

12/31/14 RW Brian Gionta Upper Body "?" Friday vs Florida
12/29/14 D Tyler Myers Lower Body out indefinitely
12/21/14 LW Marcus Foligno Hand out 3 months
12/19/14 C Cody McCormick Lower Body out indefinitely
12/18/14 C Torrey Mitchell Lower Body out indefinitely
10/31/14 GO Matt Hackett Knee out indefinitely
01/01/15 D Rasmus Ristolainen Flu probable Friday vs. Florida

Tony's Pick: Take Florida

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