Sabres vs. Blue Jackets NHL Predictions, Picks and Odds - April 9

Both the Buffalo Sabres and Columbus Blue Jackets are coming off a victory, heading into their meeting at KeyBank Center on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET. The sportsbooks have made the Sabres solid favorites at -125 on the moneyline, and the Blue Jackets are at +105.

Buffalo secured a 5-3 road victory against the New York Rangers in its last game on April 8. Three Sabres players recorded two points each, including Jason Zucker (one goal and one assist) and Zachary Benson (two goals).

Columbus won 4-3 in a shootout in its most recent contest on April 7 on the road against the Detroit Red Wings, winning the shootout 3-2 to secure the victory. Zachary Werenski's two points (one goal and one assist) in that outing led the Blue Jackets.

Prepare for this matchup by checking out our pick for who will emerge with the victory in Thursday's hockey action.

Sabres vs. Blue Jackets Predictions & Pick

For predictions on the upcoming contest between the Buffalo Sabres and Columbus Blue Jackets, computer-calculated moneyline, over/under, and score predictions are below, sourced from Dunkel Index.

• Prediction: Sabres 4 - Blue Jackets 3
• Pick OU: Over 6.5 (Dunkel projecting 6.90 goals)
  

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Sabres vs. Blue Jackets Moneylines

Snag a peek below at the most recent moneylines for the Sabres-Blue Jackets matchup.

• Favorite: Sabres (-125)
• Underdog: Blue Jackets (+105)

Sabres Betting Insights

• The Sabres have gone 24-15 this season when favored on the moneyline.
• Buffalo is 18-9 in games it has played with moneyline odds of -125 or shorter (66.7% win percentage).
• The Sabres' implied moneyline win probability is 55.6% in this contest.
• Buffalo and its opponent have posted more than 6.5 goals in 37 of 78 games this season.

Blue Jackets Betting Insights

• The Blue Jackets have been made an underdog 42 times this season, and won 16, or 38.1%, of those games.
• Columbus has entered 21 games this season as the underdog by +105 or more and is 7-14 in those contests.
• The sportsbooks' moneyline implies a 48.8% chance of victory for the Blue Jackets.
• Columbus' games this season have had more than 6.5 goals 35 of 76 times.

Sabres Key Stats

• Buffalo has scored the sixth-most goals in the NHL (270 total, 3.4 per game).
• The Sabres rank 14th in goals against, conceding 236 total goals (3.0 per game) in NHL action.
• Its +34 goal differential is the seventh-best in the league.
• The 48 power-play goals the Sabres have scored this season (on 239 power-play chances) rank 16th in the NHL.
• Buffalo has the league's 18th-ranked power-play conversion rate (20.08%).
• The Sabres have recorded 10 shorthanded goals this season (third among NHL teams).
• Buffalo has the league's ninth-best penalty-kill percentage (81.36%).
• Buffalo wins 45.7% of its faceoffs (32nd in NHL).
• The Sabres have a 12.1% shooting percentage as a team, which ranks sixth in the league.

Blue Jackets Key Stats

• Columbus' 238 goals on the season (3.0 per game) rank 17th in the league.
• The Blue Jackets' total of 239 goals conceded (3.1 per game) is 17th in the league.
• With a goal differential of -1, the team is 15th in the league.
• The Blue Jackets have 37 power-play goals (28th in NHL) on 188 chances.
• Columbus has the NHL's 19th-ranked power-play percentage (19.68%).
• In terms of shorthanded goals, the Blue Jackets have five.
• At 76.17%, Columbus has the 27th-ranked penalty-kill percentage in the league.
• At 50.4%, Columbus has the league's 15th-ranked faceoff win rate.
• With a shooting percentage of 10.5%, the Blue Jackets are 23rd in the league.