Buffalo Sabres vs Ottawa Senators Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 04/02/26

The Ottawa Senators couldn’t be farther from their stretch in the middle of March that saw them win 6 of 7 games and catapult themselves back into the Eastern Conference playoff picture. Since then, they’ve lost 3 in a row in devastating fashion, including a loss to the Florida Panthers on Tuesday that saw them go down 5-0 in the first period against a team with nearly half of their regulars on injured reserve. To make matters worse, issues with their starting goaltender, Linus Ullmark, have made the end of their season one clouded in drama.

It’d be hard for a team to get back up off the mat in these circumstances, but thanks to some favorable results around the league, the Senators are still only 2 points back of the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card. They also have the advantage in the tiebreaker format, which still leaves them in the driver’s seat to steal a playoff spot and potentially play the team they are facing on Thursday evening in the first round.

The Buffalo Sabres had also hit a wall, losing 3 in a row towards the end of March, but bounced back recently with 2 consecutive wins to get back in the first spot in the Atlantic Division. Every game going forward for the Sabres will be crucial with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens chasing them for the top spot. However, the Senators have shown an ability all season to pull off an unlikely win to keep their chances alive, and I think they do it again tonight with all eyes on how Ullmark will play.

Sabres vs Senators prediction: Senators ML (-120) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.