Boston Bruins vs. Buffalo Sabres Game Preview, Picks & Odds for Sunday, April 19, 2026

By Thom Cunningham | Apr 18, 2026, 5:00pm

It might not be what sports fans are used to seeing, but we get a Boston vs. New York playoff series with the Bruins taking on the Buffalo Sabres. A surprise season for Buffalo as one of hockey’s best teams sees them as a heavy favorite against Boston. Can the Sabres prove the NHL world this season wasn’t a fluke, or will the Bruins shock them in the first round? Let’s go through the betting numbers, odds, trends and data for Game 1 from the KeyBank Center in Buffalo.

Bruins vs. Sabres Betting Analysis

The Boston puck line immediately stands out, but has no value. Boston has covered three of four games against Buffalo while the Sabres have dropped the puck line in six straight home games as favorites. Buffalo has actually seen the underdog cover the puck line in nine straight home games, so the idea Boston can keep this within one has the numbers to back the claim. It’s expensive, though, so what about the outright win? Well, Boston has won three of four meetings – so there’s that. Also, Buffalo has actually lost four of five divisional games outright when playing as the favorite.

The total might go Over based on a few trends, such as Boston hitting the Over 1.5 1P market in eight of nine games at night. Also, Buffalo has hit the Over in four straight home games coming off overtime. Still, the most conviction in the numbers points to Boston keeping the game close and even winning as an upset in Game 1. Boston was the number one team in covering puck lines among the entire NHL this season with a 54-28 record, so paying the underdog price for an upset win doesn’t seem too far-fetched here.

Bruins vs. Sabres Best Bet, Pick & Prediction

Best Bet: Bruins ML (+135)
Score Prediction: BOS 4, BUF 3

Bruins vs. Sabres Game Odds

Bruins vs. Sabres Game Information

Date: Sunday, April 19, 2026
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Network: ESPN
Location: Buffalo, New York
Venue: KeyBank Center – 6.5 goals per game; 20-20-1 O/U
Series Score: 0-0
Series Preview

Bruins vs. Sabres Betting Resources

Bruins vs. Sabres Key Players

Buffalo Sabres

Tage Thompson – Season Stats: 40 goals, 41 assists, -6
Rasmus Dahlin – Season Stats: 19 goals, 55 assists, +18
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen – Season Stats: 22-9-3, 2.52 GAA, .910 SV%

Boston Bruins

David Pastrnak – Season Stats: 29 goals, 71 assists, +4
Charlie McAvoy – Season Stats: 11 goals, 50 assists, +13
Jeremy Swayman – Season Stats: 31-18-4, 2.71 GAA, .908 SV%

Photo Credit: AP/Jeffrey McWhorter

Thom Cunningham

Thom Cunningham is the Lineups.com News Editor and has been involved with sports media for almost two decades at Spectrum, VegasInsider.com, Oddschecker, VSiN and much more as a content producer - focused on the betting and gaming space over the last decade tracking insights, data analytics and covering various markets from the NFL to the Oscars.