October 19 NHL Picks and Best Bets: Will Sabres Hot Streak Continue?

• The New York Islanders are 4-1 in games that have had five combined goals or less
• Arizona Coyotes goaltender Darcy Kuemper has a .949 save percentage this season
• The Buffalo Sabres are 6-1-1 and are averaging 3.75 goals per game

The third Saturday of the 2019-20 NHL season will be a busy one as 22 of the league’s 30 teams will be in action. The games get underway early as we’ll have two matinee affairs. After looking through the whole card, we’ve narrowed down three solid selections for the day. Here’s a look at what we like:

New York Islanders vs Columbus Blue Jackets Odds

*All odds taken 10/18/19

The Islanders are on a bit of a roll as they’ve won three in a row after losing three of their first four games to start the season. The key for them continues to be to keep their opponents in low-scoring, defensive struggles as that’s where they thrive. They’re 4-1 in games that have seen five goals or less. They’re 0-2 otherwise.

that’s OUR captain! ?? pic.twitter.com/YUKRFitCUo

— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) October 17, 2019

The good news is they’re facing the Blue Jackets on Saturday, who are not a very high-scoring team. Entering Friday night, the Blue Jackets were averaging 2.3 goals per game and have scored more than three in a game just once this season.

The “Under” and the Islanders both make sense to me in this game, but my bet here will be on the Isles to take care of business on the road.

Pick: NYI -104

Ottawa Senators at Arizona Coyotes Odds

The Senators have been an unmitigated disaster to start the season. They’ve dropped five of their first six games and many of those contests haven’t even been close. They fell 3-2 in a shootout loss to Las Vegas on Thursday but outside of that, their other four losses have come by at least two goals.

I’m looking for more of the same on Saturday when they visit the Arizona Coyotes. Arizona started the season with a pair of losses but has since won three of four. Goaltender Darcy Kuemper has played really well as he has a sparkling .949 save percentage so far.

All of the team’s losses have been by just one goal while all of their wins have been by two or more. They’re a huge favorite on the moneyline in this spot and I don’t want to lay all of that juice, so I’ll take a flier on them with the puckline and aim for Arizona to win by two.

Pick: Arizona -1.5 (+115)

Buffalo Sabres at San Jose Sharks Odds

The Sabres are surprisingly 6-1-1 to start the season, which is quite impressive until you remember that they started the year 17-6-2 last season and then won just 16 more games the rest of the way. Hopefully, for their fan base, which has had to endure a lot of losing, they prove to be better this time around.

One of the keys to the Sabres success has been the offense, which is averaging a healthy 3.75 goals per game. They have scored less than three goals just once in a game. I don’t think that changes on Saturday when they visit the San Jose Sharks, who are abysmal between the pipes.

The Sharks are 20th in save percentage as they’re merely at .892 between their two goaltenders. Just like last season, their best path to victory is to outscore their opponents. They’ve scored 13 goals over their last three. I’m looking for offense from both sides as we should hit an over in this game.

Pick: Over 6.5 (+110)