The National Lacrosse League’s eighth week begins with just one game on Friday — Buffalo Bandits vs. New York Riptide. This game happens to feature the largest spread of the weekend as the Bandits are 3.5-point favorites for the second time this season. Instead of a side, I’m eyeing the total and player prop market for my NLL Week 8 best bets.
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Buffalo Bandits vs. New York Riptide
| Buffalo Odds | -325 |
| New York Odds | +250 |
| Total | 22.5 |
| Time | Friday · 7:30 p.m. ET |
| TV | ESPN+ |
Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook. When betting lacrosse, register with Action Network's FanDuel Sportsbook promo code today for a sign-up offer.
Buffalo has had an up-and-down season, but is still one of the top teams in the league and certainly warrants a large spread against the New York Riptide. However, I’m hesitant to lay 3.5 goals. Buffalo has already failed to cover as a 3.5-point favorite earlier this year, losing outright to Albany, and we saw San Diego also lose outright as a 3.5-point favorite just last Friday.
The best way to bet Buffalo is to back its offense to have a big day against New York. Bet Over 22.5 (-122 on FanDuel).
The Bandits' offense has been inconsistent, but I expect it to show up big against a New York defense that ranks 12th in shooting percentage allowed (18.3%). According to LaxMetrics, New York has allowed opponents to post an offensive rating of 122 or higher in all five games this season.
Dhane Smith and the Bandits offense should be able to feast against the Riptide's porous defense. Buffalo has struggled with efficiency, but has still generated the second-most quality chances in the league and its -1.32 goals over expectations this season suggest the offense could see even more positive regression after last week’s 15-goal performance.
With totals, it takes two to tango. Yet, I’m not worried about the Riptide's offense holding up its end of the bargain. Despite struggling early on, New York has shown improvement and posted season-highs in both goals and offensive rating in its past two games. The offense is finishing more of the chances star forward Jeff Teat creates and Teat himself is producing not just as a feeder, but also as a goal-scorer.
Buffalo netminder Matt Vinc is starting to play like an eight-time goaltender of the year, but Buffalo's defense has been just average. The Bandits have allowed opponents to score on 16.2% of their shots, which ranks seventh among the 15 NLL teams. New York should be able to find offensive success.
I’m also targeting a player prop that cashed for us last week. Josh Byrne’s goals prop is again 2.5 (-135) on bet365, a great price to bet him to score another hat trick. Byrne has scored three or more goals in 15 of 23 games that didn’t see him leave with an injury. Furthermore, Byrne has recorded a hat trick in his past three games against New York (in which he finished without an injury). Bet Byrne to go Over 2.5 goals once again.
Picks: Over 22.5, Josh Byrne Over 2.5 Goals
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