Buffalo Sabres vs Tampa Bay Lightning Prediction, 4/13/2025 NHL Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Buffalo Sabres vs Tampa Bay Lightning

Date: Sunday, April 13, 2025

Location: Amalie Arena in Tampa, FL

TV: WXPX-TV

Odds/Point Spread: Sabres (+125) Lightning (-150)

The Buffalo Sabres (35-37-6) are on their way to Amalie Arena on Sunday where they will attempt to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning (45-26-7). The moneyline on this game has Buffalo at +125 and Tampa Bay opens at -150. The betting total comes in at 6.

The Buffalo Sabres will look to clean up some issues after taking a 3-2 defeat to the Blue Jackets in their previous contest . The Sabres didn't have a great showing offensively in this loss. In the game, they earned a goal on 2 out of the 41 shots they put on goal. Furthermore, they had 1 power play opportunity but weren't able to notch a goal. Buffalo accounted for 2 penalty mins in this matchup.

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In reference to scoring goals, the Buffalo Sabres have accounted for 254 goals (8th in hockey) this season and have conceded 270. For the year, they have accumulated 76 points and their points percentage sits at .487. Buffalo comes into the game with 221 power play chances and they have scored 40 goals out of those attempts, garnering them a rate of 18.10%. At even strength, the Sabres have conceded 215 goals while scoring 214 on the offensive side of the ice. Buffalo has taken 2,159 shots and is the owner of a shot percentage of 11.8%. The Sabres have seen 2,246 shots taken against them and hold a save percentage of .880. Buffalo Sabres opponents have earned 232 power play tries (7th in pro hockey) and have racked up 55 goals in those chances.

The player in the crease for this game is Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. Luukkonen has played in 153 matchups during his hockey career. He has accumulated an overall mark of 71-64-14 and he has gotten the start in 149 games. Opponents have racked up 448 goals against Luukkonen in his NHL career and his goals against average per contest is 4.60. Luukkonen has seen 4,374 shot attempts against him and has accrued 3,926 saves. His save percentage is .898 in his 5,838 mins guarding the cage. Over the course of his pro career, Luukkonen has 78 quality starts and his rate for quality starts is .523.

In their last game, Tampa Bay opposed the Maple Leafs in a matchup where the Lightning were on the wrong end of the score by a mark of 4-3. The Lightning recorded 3 goals out of the 28 shots on goal they tried. They had 4 chances on the power play in this contest and netted 2 out of those attempts.

Tampa Bay has put up 2,231 shots (15th in professional hockey) and has a shooting percentage of 12.42%, while allowing the other team 2,214 shots. They have accumulated a penalty kill percentage of 81.31% on their opponents 198 opportunities on the power play, and their save percentage currently sits at 90.8%. They have a total of 222 power play opportunities and they have earned a power play rate of 26.13%. The Lightning have accumulated 219 goals at even strength and 58 goals (3rd in pro hockey) while having a power play advantage. They have permitted 203 goals to be scored by of a combination of 166 goals at even strength and 37 goals while they had less men on the ice. For the season, the Tampa Bay Lightning have a total of 277 goals, 97 points, and a points percentage of .622.

For the opposition you will find Andrei Vasilevskiy protecting the net. Vasilevskiy has accumulated a career record of 330-163-34 and has been in goal for 538 contests. Vasilevskiy's rate of quality starts sits at 57.8% and he has made 305 quality starts in his professional career. He has gathered 14,727 saves out of the 16,057 shots tried, which gives him a save % of .917. The opposition is averaging 2.83 goals per game and he has allowed 1,330 goals in total. He has started in 528 games and his ice time sits at 28,199 minutes.

Who will win tonight's NHL game against the spread or moneyline?

Guy's Pick: Take Buffalo (+125)

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