NHL Best Bets & Picks for Sabres vs Canadiens – May 16 - Game 6 Predictions
On Saturday, it's just the Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres left standing in the second-round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Canadiens can punch their ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals with a victory at Bell Centre at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, while the Sabres can force the series back to Western New York for a decisive Game 7 on Monday.
We'll take a look at some same-game parlay (SGP) possibilities, and we'll also kick the tires on some player props to make things a little more interesting. Let's get started!
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For the latest NHL Odds, including NHL Futures and NHL player props, visit RotoWire's NHL Betting page. For up-to-date NHL player news and NHL Injury Report info, head to RotoWire's NHL Lineups page. You can find more picks at Bookies.com/picks. Here are our NHL Best Bets today, featuring expert NHL picks for an action-packed slate of games.
Expert NHL Best Bets for Sabres vs Canadiens Matchup
Buffalo Sabres 
at Montreal Canadiens 
The Sabres and Canadiens seem to be allergic to winning on home ice. So far, we've had a total of five games in this series, and the home fans have gone away happy about the enormous money they've spent just two times. The road team has three wins so far.
This has been a somewhat higher-scoring series than expected, too, with the Over going 3-1-1 in the first five installments, as the winning side has scored five or more goals in three of the past four outings. In five games, we've had a combined 6.8 goals per game (GPG), with 34 total goals. The Canadiens have outscored the Sabres 21-13 in the series.
The last time these teams met at Bell Centre for Game 4, the Sabres escaped for a 3-2 win as short dogs (+122) as the Under (6) cashed for the only time in this series. Zach Benson scored the game-winning goal at 4:41 of the third period on a power play, giving him the best possible 21st birthday present outside of what may or may not have happened on St. Catherine's Street after the game, unless Buffalo flew home immediately.
Tage Thompson also had a power-play goal, atoning for a horrific game against the Canadiens in front of the home fans in Game 3. He now has goals in two of the past three games since.
Don't make any bets on your favorite sports betting apps without first consulting the latest NHL odds.
The Sabres have been flip-flopping goaltenders, and that's never something you like to see, if you're hoping for stability. He went back to Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen for Game 5, and he stopped five of the 23 shots he faced in the first two-plus periods before Alex Lyon was inserted back. It's the second time Lyon has replaced an ineffective UPL in these playoffs, and goaltending might be the reason Buffalo is dismissed from the playoffs, as the offense and defense has the ability to compete for a championship right now.
Montreal's Jakub Dobes, who I might have an affinity for based on our similar names and pronunciation, has been special in this series, and in the postseason. He has allowed three or fewer goals in the past four games since letting in four in Game 1. He is also 7-5-0 with a 2.28 GAA and .914 SV% in 12 starts in the playoffs, and head coach Martin St. Louis hasn't had to waver like Ruff, as backup Sam Montembeault remains nailed to the bench. The fifth-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft has paid huge dividends.
Despite the strong play of Dobes, though, we're going to take the Sabres as the underdogs on the puck line. We should get a one-goal game here, as the Sabres have their backs against the wall. It wouldn't be surprising to see Buffalo win outright, either, and both the NHL, and the resting Carolina Hurricanes wouldn't mind a Game 7 here one bit.
In addition, we should see a low-scoring game. Buffalo isn't likely to want to take a lot of chances, giving Montreal possible breakaways, while the Canadiens won't want to extend any opportunity to the desperate Sabres. And, we haven't had overtime yet in this series, but that wouldn't be shocking in the least in Game 6.
For player props, I love the Over for Dobes, in terms of total saves (60 minutes only). In regulation, especially if Buffalo finds itself behind late, we should see a flurry of shots to bump up his save totals. In addition, let's take Juraj Slafkovsky has a goal and six points in this series. We'll take him to get at least one point to bump our SGP to nearly 10X.
- Sabres +1.5 Goals (-155 at Caesars Sportsbook)
- Under 6.5 Goals (-120 at BetMGM and Fanatics Sportsbooks)
- Jakub Dobes - Over 24.5 Saves - 60 min (-122 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
- Juraj Slafkovsky - 1+ Points (-184 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
Don't make any bets on your favorite sports betting apps without first consulting the latest NHL odds.
Key NHL Betting Trends Shaping Saturday's Picks
4-Leg NHL Super Same-Game Parlay (+995 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
- Sabres +1.5 Goals (-184)
- Under 6.5 Goals (-130)
- Jakub Dobes - Over 24.5 Saves - 60 min (-122)
- Juraj Slafkovsky - 1+ Points (-184)
2-Leg NHL Side/Total Same-Game Parlay (+169 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
- Sabres +1.5 Goals (-184)
- Under 6.5 Goals (-130)
2-Leg NHL Props Same-Game Parlay (+160 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
- Jakub Dobes - Over 24.5 Saves - 60 min
- Juraj Slafkovsky - 1+ Points
