Buffalo Sabres vs Ottawa Senators: Game preview, predictions and odds

The Buffalo Sabres are on the road to play the Ottawa Senators on Thursday, Jan. 9, at 7 p.m. EST.

Buffalo (15-21-5) is coming off a 4-3 shootout win over Washington. Ottawa (19-17-3) is coming off a 3-2 OT loss to the Detroit Red Wings.

Sabres vs Senators: Head-to-head & key stats

Buffalo is 76-61-10-10 all-time against Ottawa
The Sabres are averaging 3.02 goals per game
Ottawa is 10-6-1 at home
Buffalo is allowing 3.39 goals per game
The Senators are averaging 2.92 goals per game
The Sabres are 7-11-2 on the road
Ottawa is allowing 2.89 goals per game

Buffalo Sabres vs Ottawa Senators: Preview

Buffalo is coming off a comeback win over Washington which snapped a three-game losing streak. The Sabres are led by Tage Thompson who has 34 points, Jason Zucker has 31 points, JJ Peterka has 30 points and Alex Tuch has 30 points.

The Sabres will start Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen who's 12-12-4 with a 3.05 GAA and a .894 SV%. In his career against Ottawa, he's 3-1 with a 3.82 GAA and a .894 SV%.

Ottawa, meanwhile, is on a three-game losing streak. The Sens will be starting Anton Forsberg who's 4-7-1 with a 3.03 GAA and a .888 SV%. In his career against Buffalo, he's 4-4 with a 2.29 GAA and a .929 SV%.

The Senators are led by Tim Stutzle who has 41 points, Brady Tkachuk has 38 points, Drake Batherson has 36 points and Claude Giroux has 24 points.

Sabres vs Senators: Odds & Prediction

Buffalo is a +130 underdog, while Ottawa is a -155 favorite. The over/under is set at 5.5 goals.

The Sabres and Senators are both fighting for a playoff spot, so this should be a very competitive divisional game. Ottawa is still without starting goalie Linus Ullmark which is a tough blow for the Senators.

However, Forsberg has played well this season and he should be able to limit the Sabres offense here. Ottawa also plays well at home, as the Sens should be able to get a big win.

Prediction: Senators 3, Sabres 2.

Sabres vs Senators: Betting Tips

Tip 1: Ottawa ML (-155)

Tip 2: Under 5.5 goals (+110)

Tip 3: Brady Tkachuk 4+ shots on goal (-140)

Tip 4: Tim Stutzle 1+ point (-185)

About the author

Cole is an NHL, NFL and College Sports reporter at Sportskeeda with over 7 years of experience writing for publications like CBC, USA Today, SMG, BJPENN, Sherdog and SB Nation.

An NHL fan his whole life, Cole played rep hockey in Canada from age 5 until 17 and grew up rooting for Martin St. Louis and the Tampa Bay Lightning. His all-time favorite players are Vincent Lecavalier and Steven Stamkos, while Jon Cooper is his favorite coach of all time.

Cole attended Sheridan College and received his journalism degree in 2019. After decades of watching and reporting, he considers his knowledge of sports as his primary strength. He ensures that the same story has been reported by at least two reputed reporters before creating it.

Cole enjoys playing golf and spending time with friends and family when not reporting breaking stories. His favorite sports moment is from the 2010 Olympics, when Sidney Crosby scored the golden goal in overtime to beat Team USA for the gold medal.

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Edited by Rajdeep Barman

Buffalo Sabres vs Ottawa Senators: Game preview, predictions and odds | January 9, 2025

Sabres vs Senators: Head-to-head & key stats

Buffalo Sabres vs Ottawa Senators: Preview

Sabres vs Senators: Odds & Prediction

Sabres vs Senators: Betting Tips