NHL Betting Line: Stars vs Sabers

The Dallas Stars will attempt to do something they haven’t done in five years by winning in Buffalo in an effort to keep their playoff hopes alive on Wednesday night.

Dallas Stars at Buffalo Sabres
Wednesday March 10, 2010-7:00 ET
HSBC Arena, Buffalo, New York
NHL Betting Line: Buffalo -171 

Buffalo has won the last four meetings between these teams dating back to 2006. Five points back of Calgary for the final playoff spot in the Western conference with just 17 games left in the regular season, and with last year’s Stanley Cup finalist Detroit Red Wings ahead of them in ninth, every point will be important for the Stars down the stretch. The Sabres are much more comfortable than their opponent, seated in the third spot of the Eastern conference, atop the Northeast division with 79 points. However, Buffalo is tied with the Senators, and are fighting its own battle down the stretch with postseason home ice on the line. 

What The Stars Will Have To Do To Win: 

Turco has not played his best hockey against the Sabres. The 34-year old had been in goal for every one of Dallas’ four consecutive losses to Buffalo, including last year’s 5-4 overtime loss. However Turco is coming off one of his best games of the season in Monday’s 4-3 shootout win in Washington, a game in which the Stars’ netminder stopped 49 shots over four periods, before stopping all four shooters he faced in the shootout. Turco will need another big outing Wednesday against an opponent that has struggled to score goals of late. Dallas is deep up front, and will need to get a lot of traffic in front of the opposition goal in an effort to solve one of the top goaltenders in the league in Ryan Miller. 

What The Sabres Will Have To Do To Win: 

Ryan Miller has been outstanding in his play for the Sabres since returning from the Olympic break. Not that he was at all bad during the break when he won goalie of the tournament while helping the United States secure a silver medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Miller is 2-1-0 with a 1.67 goals against average in his past three games, and is 7-3-1 overall in his last 11 at home. The 29-year old is the biggest reason why The Sabres are at the top of the standings in the Northeast division after 64 games, and will need to continue his hot play to secure the two points against Dallas, especially considering that Buffalo has failed to score more than three goals in any of its past ten games. 

Outlook and Pick: 

Dallas has faced one of its toughest road swings of the season competing against the top three teams in the Eastern conference in games at Pittsburgh, Washington, and Buffalo. The Stars-Marty Turco specifically played well over their heads in a 4-3 shootout win over the Capitals, and should come back down to earth against a Sabres team that is 20-8-6 at home.

Pick: Buffalo Sabres -171