Posted on 1/4/2008 4:47:41 PM

Hockey Betting Action - Sabres back indoors again

By BetUS Staff

The Buffalo Sabres will be playing in front of a smaller crowd on Friday night at home against the Ottawa Senators, but at least there will be a roof over their heads. And those doing any NHL betting on the game won’t have to factor in the speed of the wind.

The Sabres took on the Pittsburgh Penguins outdoors at spacious Ralph Wilson Stadium on New Year’s Day in the NHL’s Winter Classic, but they’ll be back at HSBC Arena for Friday night’s game against the division rival Senators. And Buffalo will be hoping to bounce back from a 5-3 loss to Ottawa in their own rink back on Boxing Day.

Antoine Vermette, Wade Redden, and Mike Fisher all scored second-period goals en route to that 5-3 win last week, while Daniel Alfredsson and Dany Heatley added insurance markers in the third period. Jochen Hecht, Brian Campbell, and Adam Mair replied for the Sabres. Martin Gerber got the win between the pipes for Ottawa after making 29 saves, while Ryan Miller allowed four goals on 23 shots in the Buffalo loss.

That defeat put an end to Buffalo’s six-game winning streak, and kept the Senators comfortably atop the Northeast Division standings. Both the Sabres and the Senators will play twice over the weekend – Ottawa will travel down to Tampa Bay to take on the Lightning on Saturday night, while the Sabres will contest a Sunday matinee in Atlanta.

There’s only one other NHL game on tap for Sunday – the Detroit Red Wings will play in Chicago against the Blackhawks starting at 7:00pm ET. Friday night is light around the league as well, with only three other games on the schedule – Philadelphia will be in New Jersey, Atlanta will play host to Carolina, and Anaheim will get a visit from Chicago.

That leaves most of the action for Saturday, which will see 26 teams in action. Four teams will lace up their skates in the afternoon, with Washington at Montreal at 12:30pm ET and Detroit at Dallas at 2:00pm ET. Early evening games then include New Jersey at Boston, Philadelphia at Toronto, Florida at Pittsburgh, Minnesota at Nashville, Carolina at St. Louis, the New York Islanders at Colorado, and also Anaheim at Phoenix.

Late-night contests then include the New York Rangers at Edmonton, Calgary at Los Angeles, and Columbus at San Jose – with all those matchups starting at 10:00pm ET or later. Check the BetUS NHL betting lines section for all the latest weekend odds and totals.

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