Pittsburgh Penguins vs Buffalo Sabres Prediction: Betting on the home team to win

Prediction for the NHL match which will take place on January 7. Who will turn out to be stronger? Check the team conditions! Several betting options are available.

Surprisingly enough, we see Pittsburgh not far from the playoff zone. It seemed that the Penguins would have huge problems with their results in the current regular season, as they are still hostage to big contracts of their age leaders, so there are not many opportunities to strengthen the roster. It's getting harder and harder for veterans to compete with faster and more athletic opponents. Nevertheless, the Pennsylvanians have no intention of giving up. Since the second half of December, they've been on a roll, which has allowed them to suffer only three losses and eight wins in their last 11 games, climbing to 11th place in the Eastern Conference standings, one point back of the top 8.

On the other hand, Buffalo should have been expected to do well in the current regular season, as they came close to the Cup Final Eight the year before but fell just short of making the playoffs. The young and playful gang should have had no trouble breaking into the top 8, but the Blades are showing mediocre results. They started the championship quite well, but at the junction of fall and winter, they stalled and almost stopped winning. Things have improved a bit now, with three wins and three losses in their last six games, which has helped them maintain 14th place in the Eastern Conference standings.

Pittsburgh and Buffalo have been neighbors in the Eastern Conference standings for the last two consecutive seasons. They were direct competitors in the fight for the playoffs at the finish of the last regular season. Still, in the end, they flew past the cup eight. The trip to Pennsylvania doesn't look good for the Blades, as they've lost the last four consecutive head-to-head meetings on the PPG Paints' ice. The Penguins should be closer to success as they have been in great form, winning 8 of their last 11 battles.

The recent confrontation between Pittsburgh and Buffalo does not please us with high-goal activity, and it especially concerns those personal meetings that took place on the ice of the P.P.G. Paints Arena. In six previous such battles, the rivals have combined efforts to score only 27 pucks (4.50 average per game), which is a low indicator by the standards of the NHL, and especially bad offensively looked Blades, marked on the given distance only seven goals (1.17 average per game).