Three of the NHL’s second-round series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs have already begun, but the fourth and final one gets going on Wednesday night. The Buffalo Sabres dispatched the Boston Bruins in six games to begin their postseason run and have awaited their next opponent. They now meet the Montreal Canadiens, who won their opening series over the Tampa Bay Lightning in seven games and are looking to keep proving their youth can succeed in this environment.

Here’s a Canadiens vs. Sabres Game 1 prediction and pick for Wednesday’s NHL Playoffs action on DraftKings Sportsbook.

Canadiens vs. Sabres Game 1 prediction, preview

This series should prove intriguing for a couple of reasons. We get two exciting teams on the come-up, with the Canadiens coming off their first series win since 2021 and first with this iteration of the young core. Meanwhile, the Sabres are in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2011, also winning their first series since 2007. It’s a shame that one side will be going home after the best-of-seven since the stories are so great, but that’s sports for you. If nothing else, this matchup represents a changing of the guard in the Atlantic Division (at least of sorts).

So, how do they match up? The Sabres’ two-way ability is impressive, sitting fifth in goals per game (3.45) while ranking 10th in goals allowed per game (2.93) during the regular season. That’s held up in the postseason as well, with Buffalo scoring 3.33 goals while giving up just 2.00. They’ve also done incredibly well to dominate possession and shot attempts, averaging 31.7 SOG per game and allowing only 25.2 to their opponent. At the individual level, the Sabres have plenty of talent in both the forward lines and defensive pairings — Alex Tuch and Tage Thompson predictably have seven points apiece this postseason, while blueliners Bowen Byram, Owen Power and Rasmus Dahlin each have at least four points. In the crease, Alex Lyon has played exceptionally well since taking over with a 1.14 GAA and .955 SV%, also ranking fourth in goals saved above expected per 60 and SV% above expected.

The Canadiens played a much more difficult first-round series against the Lightning and were pushed to seven games, but ultimately emerged victorious from an extremely tight matchup. Every single contest was decided by one goal in either direction, and Montreal’s offense drastically underperformed — the Canadiens are at just 2.29 goals per game despite averaging 3.40 in the regular season, seventh most. The top forward line has struggled mightily with just one goal for each of Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki, but the latter is still tied for a team-best six points with defenseman Lane Hutson while the former has four points. The defense has performed admirably though, limiting one of the NHL’s best offenses to to just 2.14 goals per game after allowing 3.06 during the regular season. The play of rookie Jakub Dobes has been a key reason why, logging a 2.03 GAA and .923 SV% while sitting sixth in SV% above expected.

Canadiens vs. Sabres Game 1 pick, best bet

DraftKings Sportsbook lists the Sabres as -135 home favorites to win on the Moneyline tonight, while the Canadiens come in with +114 odds on the road. The game total sits at 5.5 combined goals.

Betting splits show 71% of straight bets on Buffalo to win, 54% of wagers on Montreal to cover the +1.5 puck line, and 72% on the total’s over.

These teams met four times in the regular season with the sides splitting those contests at two wins apiece — the Canadiens took a pair of 4-2 victories while the Sabres won a couple themselves with final scores of 5-3 and 4-2. Every one of those games went over tonight’s total of 5.5 combined goals, but I actually like going in the opposite direction. The playoffs mean margins get even thinner than usual and both of the goalies are hot at the moment. Each side has limited high-danger shots quite effectively through their respective postseason samples and haven’t exactly racked up a ton of those chances themselves. Beyond that, Montreal has an xGA/60 of 2.56 while Buffalo’s sits at 2.6, the fourth and fifth-best marks of playoff teams.

Considering how the Sabres’ power play hasn’t hit its stride yet at an abysmal 4.2% and both teams are at 82.8% or better on the penalty kill, we may not see a ton of goals on special teams in this series barring a positive regression from Buffalo in that aspect of the game. Additionally, the lack of scoring pop from Montreal’s top line is a matter of concern, and with the Canadiens laying a ton of hits, they could wear their opponent down more than the Bruins did in the first round. All of these factors are encouraging signs for the under tonight, which comes in at plus odds. That’s the direction I’ll be going with this pick, especially with how teams tend to be a little more conservative in a feel-out game of sorts to begin a series.

Best bet: Under 5.5 goals (+102)