Buffalo Sabres vs Tampa Bay Lightning Prediction, Preview and Odds - 02/03/2026

Game Time: 7:30 pm ET, Tuesday, February 3, 2026

Venue:  Benchmark International Arena, Tampa, FL 

Where to Watch:  ESPN+, Hulu

DraftKings:  Moneyline:  Sabres +190, Lightning -230; Over/Under:  6.5 goals

Bet365:  Moneyline:  Sabres +190, Lightning -230; Over/Under:  6.5 goals

BetMGM:  Moneyline:  Sabres +190, Lightning -230; Over/Under:  6.5 goals

Buffalo Sabres:  31-18-5 (5th place, Atlantic Division)

Tampa Bay Lightning:  35-14-4 (1st place, Atlantic Division)

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Buffalo Sabres:  7-2-1 last 10

Tampa Bay Lightning:  8-1-1 last 10

The Sabres are entering this game with 67 points, a 31-18-5 record overall, and they are 14-11-2 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a loss against the Montreal Canadiens in their last game, losing that one at home 4-2, but this is also the 2nd game of a back-to-back for them with their game against the Florida Panthers still to be played on Monday night. In their game against the Canadiens, Noah Östlund and Owen Power each scored 1 goal for them in that one. Alex Tuch, Bowen Byram, Rasmus Dahlin, and Tage Thompson each led the team in assists with 1 while Owen Power led the team in shots on net in that game with 6. Alex Lyon was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 3 goals on 30 shots with 27 saves and a .900 save percentage. Their offense has scored 185 goals this season averaging 3.4 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 164 goals against them allowing 3 goals per game.

The Lightning are entering this game with 74 points, a 35-14-4 record overall, and they are 16-9-0 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a win against the Boston Bruins in their last game, winning that one at home 6-5 in a shootout. Nikita Kucherov, Brandon Hagel, Darren Raddysh, Nicholas Paul, and Oliver Bjorkstrand each scored 1 goal for them in that one. Nikita Kucherov led the team in assists with 3 while Nikita Kucherov led the team in shots on net in that game with 8. Andrei Vasilevskiy was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 5 goals on 34 shots with 29 saves and a .853 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 189 goals this season averaging 3.6 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 136 goals against them allowing 2.6 goals per game.

The current betting odds have the Lightning listed as a big favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Lightning have looked really good in their games this season with their 35-14-4 record overall which has them right at the top of their division in the East. They have looked great on home ice too with their 16-9-0 home record this season. Meanwhile, the Sabres have looked good in their games this season with their 31-18-5 record overall, but that record has them in the bottom half of their division in the East at the moment. They haven't been a great road team either with their 14-11-2 road record this year. The Sabres have been rolling in their games lately as they are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. They have been in a playoff spot over the last few weeks, but they are in a really competitive division in the East and they are off a 4-2 home loss to the Canadiens in their last one which has dropped them to 5th in the division now. They have still been playing really well lately, but they didn't look good in that loss and could be due for some regression with how hot they have been over the last few weeks. They have struggled a lot more in their road games this season anyways and they aren't in a great situation here either, playing this game on a back-to-back with a tough game against the defending Stanley Cup champions on Monday night. The Lightning are in a much better position here at home where they have looked better all season and with some rest on their side. They have also been rolling in their games lately as they are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games and have been the hotter team lately. The best way to place a bet here is on the Lightning to win this game and on the puckline. 

Sabres Lightning Prediction:  Our NHL Pick for Tuesday, February 3, 2026 (7:30 pm ET start time) is Lightning 6 Sabres 1.

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Buffalo Sabres: 24-45 (-10.3 units) on the moneyline as a road underdog of +100 to +200. 41-57 (-5.4 units) on the moneyline in a road game where the total is 6 or more. 13-31 (-8.1 units) on the moneyline when playing against a good team (Win Pct. 60% to 75%). 24-17 UNDER when playing against a good team (Win Pct. 60% to 75%).

Tampa Bay Lightning: 75-53 (+7.8 units) on the moneyline off a win in their previous game. 40-25 (+12.6 units) on the moneyline when playing against a marginal winning team (Win Pct. 51% to 60%). 80-40 (+17.6 units) on the moneyline against terrible defensive teams - allowing 3+ goals/game. 24-17 UNDER after a 3 game winning streak.

Buffalo Sabres:  J. Greenway (LW) Day To Day - Abdomen. U. Luukkonen (G) Out - Lower Body. J. Norris (C) Day To Day - Ribs. J. Danforth (RW) Out - Lower Body. J. Bryson (D) Out - Upper-body. J. Dunne (C) Out - Middle-body. C. Timmins (D) Out - Leg. J. Kulich (C) Out - Ear.

Tampa Bay Lightning:  A. Cirelli (C) Day To Day - Undisclosed. C. D'Astous (D) Out - Lower-body. B. Point (C) Out - Lower Body. E. Lilleberg (D) Out - Undisclosed.

“That was a really good, competitive game. They had a few pockets of good shifts there in the third period that got us on our heels a little bit. I thought we recovered from that. I thought we had a great push in the second period, but we just didn’t quite make them pay for some of the mistakes.” - Lindy Ruff after his team’s loss against the Canadiens in their game on Saturday.

"I don't know what you guys thought, but I mean, games like that don't come over very often. I mean, how often do you look at a score sheet, and you see one team with five straight goals scored, and then another team with five straight goals scored? The game had everything. It had the weather, it had the state, which doesn't usually get weather like this. It was a phenomenal atmosphere." - Jon Cooper after his team’s win against the Bruins in their game on Sunday.

LW Zach Benson

C Tage Thompson

RW Alex Tuch

LD Mattias Samuelsson

RD Rasmus Dahlin

G Alex Lyon

LW Brandon Hagel

C Anthony Cirelli

RW Nikita Kucherov

LD Janis Jérôme Moser

RD Darren Raddysh

G Andrei Vasilevskiy

Points: Tage Thompson (56)

Goals: Tage Thompson (28)

Assists: Rasmus Dahlin (33)

GAA: Alex Lyon (2.64)

Points: Nikita Kucherov (86)

Goals: Nikita Kucherov (28)

Assists: Nikita Kucherov (58)

GAA: Andrei Vasilevskiy (2.12)

Coaches:

Buffalo Sabres: Lindy Ruff (2nd season)

Tampa Bay Lightning: Jon Cooper (14th season)