Buffalo Sabres face Philadelphia Flyers in first round of NHL Playoffs
The Buffalo Sabres and the Philadelphia Flyers will play this Thursday in the first game of a 7 game series in the 2011 NHL Playoffs. The Flyers will have the home court advantage in this game as they are the 2nd seed and the Sabres are the 7th seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.
The Flyers finished an excellent season in which they narrowly missed landing the top seed in the Eastern Conference. They had just one more overtime loss and one win less than the Washington Capitals. While they while have the home court advantage in this game, this does not necessarily favor them. They are actually a better team playing on the road than they are at home. They had a record of 22-12-7 in Philadelphia this season compared to the 25-11-5 record that they achieved on the road. The Flyers are a -160 moneyline favorite to win the opener in NHL odds.
The Sabres are actually a better team on the road than they are at home as well this season. They had a 22-13-6 record on the road and a record of 21-16-4 at home. This will make them a dangerous team in the playoffs as they very well could sneak away a victory or two from the Flyers in Philadelphia.
Both of these teams are solid, but Philadelphia does have a slightly more potent offense than Buffalo does. Look for Philadelphia to attack early on as the Sabres have somewhat of a “middle of the pack” defense and may be vulnerable to a strong attack. The Flyers are favorites in online sports handicapping to win this match.
This should be a good series as both teams are talented and capable of winning on any given night.
