NHL - Buffalo Sabres v Toronto

9 January 2010

Preview By Tipster Simo982 (Slovenia)

Asian Handicap Line :

Here we go again with a game where Maple Leafs are involved and once again I will go against them. Now let's see why.

There are only two teams who are currently worse in the standings than Toronto, who went back on their losing ways yesterday, when they were trashed against the Flyers. Only Columbus conceded more goals when playing away, while overall they are the worst in the league with 153 goals conceded in 44 games so far. They are also the worst in the league when it comes to penalty killing as they are only 69,8% successful when it comes to that. Another big blow for them is that they are still without 3 keys players - Michael Komisarek, Wayne Primeau, Mikhail Grabovski, while defensemen Carl Gunnarsson and Mike Van Ryn are both long-term injured. It is still uncertain whether Jonas Gustavsson will start on goal for the Maple Leafs, as he conceded 6 against the Flyers last time out, but according to the coach there was nothing he could do, as it was clearly the defense should have interfered better. So, Vesa Toskala could get his chance.

Buffalo Sabres have been enjoying a good season so far. With 27 wins in 42 games and 58 points collected so far, they are currently 4th in the league. They won 15 out of 24 games played at home with a total 117:96 goal difference. They are on a 5 games streak, which actually frightens me a bit, but they were quite efficient as they scored at least 4 goals in four out of their latest five. The only one missing for the Sabres is Patrick Kaleta, but is noted as a probable starter on Friday. Ryan Miller, who recorded a 1.47 GAA against Toronto this season and is 21-7-0 all-time with a 2.20 GAA in his career against them, is a probable starter on goal for the Sabers.

These two have already met 4 times this season and Sabres won all four, though twice after overtime. However since the season 05/06 Sabres have been really dominating Maple Leafs. There were 34 games played between these two since then and Sabres won 25 out of 34 games overall. They managed to win by 2 or more goals 17 times!! So we have a top team in a good form who are looking for their first six-game win streak since Dec. 12-22, 2007 on one side and a struggling team, who was outscored 35-15 in their last 8 games away from home, who has many key players out and has been awful since the beginning of the season on the other side. It may be a trap, but everything points to an easy home win, although things are never easy when it comes to NHL hockey! Medium stakes on this one, though things look to good to be true. Good luck!