Sabres Overcome Tough Odds, Coyotes Keep Win Streak Alive

On Tuesday, the Buffalo Sabres (3-13-1) entered their game against the San Jose Sharks (10-1-4) as the greatest underdog in a NHL game since 2010 as the Sharks were -400 favorites, according to Bovada.

The last time there had been such a large underdog came on March 30, 2010 when the Detroit Red Wings played the Edmonton Oilers on their home ice. The line at the open was  -400 and then closed at -420.

Why the large spread? For the Sharks, they entered Tuesday’s game as the highest scoring NHL team with their 53 goals over 14 games and 10-1-3 or No. 3 overall. Meanwhile the Sabres sat at the bottom with their two wins from 16 games.

Ryan Miller

You can imagine how this story ends: the Sabres won 5-4 in a shootout, ending a four-game losing streak. But the victory came after they blew two third-period leads and a blown OT call. In the shootout’s fourth round, Cody Hodgson scored with Ryan Miller making 47 saves for the game. He is now tied with New York Rangers Henrik Lundqvist for the most shootout wins in league history at 45.

Tyler Ennis, Cody McCormick, Drew Stafford and Henrik Tallinder scored for the Sabres on Tuesday night, who now have five straight wins over the Sharks. Meanwhile, San Jose has now lost three straight games while sitting at 8/1 to win the 2014 Stanley Cup.

Sabres coach Ron Rolston said of the much-needed win via the Associated Press, “To go on the road and play a team like San Jose and come in here and get two points is a big thing for us. It’s our obligation now to build on that as a team.”

Rolson needs to do this ASAP as he sits at 4/1 to become the second NHL coach to get a pink slip.

Will the Sabres start a new win streak? Their next game is Thursday against the Los Angeles Kings (9-6-0).

Coyotes Win Fifth in A Row

Antoine Vermette

On Tuesday, the Phoenix Coyotes (11-3-2) won their fifth straight game after defeating  the Vancouver Canucks (10-5-2) 3-2 at home in a shootout–its second consecutive one by Antoine Vermette and a third one by the team.

The Coyotes now sit at 7-0-1 on their home ice. Phoenix coach Dave Tippett said via the Associated Press, “If you look at all the teams that have a chance to win or be playoff teams, they all have a good home record. So that’s something we’ve talked about as a group, and we have to continue to push that. If we can establish a real good home feel and make this a hard place for teams to come and play, I think that carries over to your road record, too.”

While the Coyotes have a nice streak going, they lost defenseman Derek Morris in the first period after he incurred a lower body injury. He did not return to the game.

For the Coyotes, they sit at 50/1 to win the 2014 Stanley Cup. On Wednesday, they’ll take on the Anaheim Ducks (12-3-1) and will see their win streak come to an end (-157, 5.5 o/u).

As for Vancouver, they had previously won their last five of six games and took the lead in Tuesday’s game with two goals by the second period. They sit at 20/1 to win this year’s Stanley Cup.

Along with the Coyote’s win streak, there’s more in the league. The Ducks sit at the top of the Pacific Division and have a two-game win streak going while the Colorado Avalanche (13-12-1) have won six straight and sit at the top of the Western Conference.

But they sit at 40/1 to win the Stanley Cup.

On Wednesday night, they will host the Nashville Predators (7-5-2). The Avalanche have their best start in franchise history and this will continue with a win against the Predators (-190, 5 o/u).