Boston Bruins at Buffalo Sabres NHL Picks & Predictions 12/19/2017

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

KeyBank Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Boston Bruins head to KeyBank Center to take on the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday, December 19, 2017. The opening line for this contest has the Bruins at -161 and the Sabres at +145.

Boston has a record of 15-10-5 this year and away from home they have a record of 6-5-2. They are 3rd in the Atlantic Division. They have tallied 86 goals and surrendered 85 goals for a point differential of +1. For the year they have an ATS mark of 15-15-0 and an over/under record of 14-16-0. Buffalo has a record of 8-18-7 including 4-9-2 on home ice this year. They are 8th in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 72 goals and have given up 111 for a goal differential of -39. Their record against the spread is 8-25-0 while their over/under mark is 12-18-0.

Valuable Boston Bruins Betting Trends

The Boston Bruins are 15-15-0 straight up this year

The Boston Bruins are 14-16-0 against the over/under this season

Important Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres are 8-25-0 straight up this year

The Buffalo Sabres are 12-18-0 against the over/under this season

Key Boston Bruins Injuries

11/26/17 C Peter Cehlarik Lower Body IR (11/25)
10/20/17 D Adam McQuaid Fibula IR (10/19)

Key Buffalo Sabres Injuries

11/27/17 C Jacob Josefson Ankle IR (11/26)
11/17/17 D Taylor Fedun Lower Body IR (11/15)

Player Spotlight

David Pastrnak has scored 30 total points this year for the Bruins. He has 15 goals this season with 84 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 18%. He has a total of 15 assists on the year and averages 18.8 minutes played per contest. Brad Marchand averages 20.9 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 23% by tallying 13 goals on 57 attempts. He has 14 assists, giving him a total of 27 points on the year. Tuukka Rask has 8 wins and 8 losses this season in goal for the Bruins. He has 538 shots against him and he's surrendered 47 goals. He's made 491 stops for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Jack Eichel has 28 total points this season for the Sabres. He has 11 goals this year with 108 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 10%. He has a total of 17 assists on the year and averages 20.6 minutes played per contest. Evander Kane averages 20 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 10% by scoring 14 goals on 138 attempts. He has 17 assists, giving him a total of 31 points on the year. Robin Lehner has 7 wins and 13 losses this season in net for the Sabres. He has 723 shots against him and he's given up 64 goals. He's made 659 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Bruins have 35 total points this year, which is 20th in the NHL. They've scored 86 goals while giving up 85 scores, which has them ranked 26th and 27th respectively. They have had 101 power play chances and scored 20 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 20%. That is 13th in the league. The Bruins have given up 95 power play opportunities and surrendered 16 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83%, ranking them 9th when short-handed. They average 32 shots per contest and as a team shoot 9.08% for the year. They allow 30 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is 16th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sabres are 30th in the league with a total of 23 points this season. They have 13 power play goals on 101 chances for a percentage of 13%. That is 30th in the NHL. They've given up 101 power play opportunities and surrendered 18 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 82%, ranking 12th overall. As a team, the Sabres are 31st with a total of 72 goals scored while they've given up 111 goals this season, ranking 4th in goals against. They average 31 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 7.11%. As a unit they give up 32 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 90%, putting them 27th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Boston has a Corsi percentage of 51.5% as they've tried 1,765 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 1,661 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 6th in Corsi percentage. They are 7th in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 52% as they have 1,346 shots while they've given up 1,244 attempts on defense. The Bruins start possessions in the offensive zone 55.1% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 44.9% for the year. That puts them 4th and 27th in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 979 face-off wins as opposed to 922 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.5%. That is 6th overall in the NHL. On defense Boston has 729 hits and they've blocked 417 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 30th in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Sabres start possessions in the offensive zone 52.7% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 47.3% for the year. That ranks them 8th and 21st respectively in the NHL. They have 1,016 face-off wins as opposed to 971 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.1%. That is 10th in the league. On defense Buffalo has 772 hits and they've blocked 471 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 21st in blocked shots. Buffalo is ranked 23rd in Corsi percentage with 48.2% as they've tried 1,789 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 1,920 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 22nd in the NHL at 48.4%, as they have 1,358 shots while they've given up 1,449 attempts on defense.

Who will win tonight's Bruins/Sabres NHL game against the spread?

Guy's Pick: Take Boston -161

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