Buffalo Sabres at Colorado Avalanche NHL Picks & Predictions 12/5/2017

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Pepsi Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Buffalo Sabres travel to Pepsi Center to play the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday, December 5, 2017. The opening line for this game has the Sabres at +129 and the Avalanche at -142.

Buffalo has a record of 6-17-4 this season and on the road they have a record of 3-8-3. They are 8th in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 56 goals and given up 94 goals for a point differential of -38. For the season they have an ATS record of 6-21-0 and an over/under record of 10-14-0. Colorado has a record of 12-11-2 including 8-4-1 at home this season. They are 7th in the Central Division. They've scored 79 goals and surrendered 82 for a goal differential of -3. Their record against the spread is 12-12-0 while their over/under record is 14-10-0.

Valuable Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres are 6-21-0 straight up this year

The Buffalo Sabres are 10-14-0 against the over/under this season

Important Colorado Avalanche Betting Trends

The Colorado Avalanche are 12-12-0 straight up this year

The Colorado Avalanche are 14-10-0 against the over/under this season

Key Buffalo Sabres Injuries

12/02/17 D Nathan Beaulieu Undisclosed left last game, is "?" Tuesday vs Colorado
11/27/17 C Jacob Josefson Ankle IR (11/26)
11/17/17 D Taylor Fedun Lower Body IR (11/15)

Key Colorado Avalanche Injuries

12/03/17 C Colin Wilson Hip is "?" Tuesday vs Buffalo
11/27/17 LW Gabriel Landeskog Suspension 4-game suspension (eligible to return 12/07 vs Tampa Bay)
11/19/17 C Vladislav Kamenev Arm IR (11/16)
11/10/17 D Patrik Nemeth Lower Body IR (11/08)

Player Spotlight

Robin Lehner has 5 wins and 12 losses this season in net for the Sabres. He has 537 shots against him and he's given up 52 goals. He's made 485 saves for a save percentage of 90%. Evander Kane has accumulated 24 total points this season for the Sabres. He has 12 goals this year with 122 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 10%. He has a total of 12 assists on the season and averages 20.1 minutes played per game. Jason Pominville averages 15.4 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 13% by scoring 7 goals on 54 shots. He has 8 assists, giving him a total of 15 points on the season.

Player Spotlight

Nathan MacKinnon has scored 29 total points this year for the Avalanche. He has 8 goals this season with 70 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 11%. He has a total of 21 assists on the season and averages 19.4 minutes played per game. Semyon Varlamov has 8 wins and 5 losses this year in goal for the Avalanche. He has 473 shots against him and he's surrendered 45 goals. He's made 428 saves for a save percentage of 91%. Mikko Rantanen averages 18.6 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 15% by scoring 8 goals on 52 shots. He has 13 assists, giving him a total of 21 points on the season.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sabres have allowed 81 power play opportunities and have given up 15 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 81% this year. That is 12th in the NHL. They average 31 shots per game and as a team shoot 6.67% for the season. They allow 31 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 89%, which is ranked 31st in the league. The Sabres has 16 total points this season, ranking 31st in the NHL in offense. They are 31st in the league with 56 goals while they've given up 94 goals, which is 2nd overall. They have had 86 power play opportunities and scored 10 goals on those chances for a percentage of 12%. That is 30th in the NHL.

Useful Team Statistics

As a team, the Avalanche are 15th with 79 goals scored while they are 13th in the NHL with 82 goals allowed this year. They average 29 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 10.82%. They give up 31 shots per game and have a save percentage of 90%, putting them in 27th place in the league. The Avalanche have a total of 26 points this year, which is 24th in the NHL. They have 20 power play goals on 104 opportunities for a percentage of 19%. That ranks their power play unit 15th. They've allowed 98 power play opportunities and have given up 21 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 79%, which is 19th overall.

Advanced Statistics

Buffalo has a Corsi percentage of 49.6% as they've tried 1,478 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 1,504 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 14th in Corsi percentage. They are 12th in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 49.5% as they have 1,127 shots while they've given up 1,149 attempts on defense. The Sabres start possessions in the offensive zone 53.9% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 46.1% for the year. That puts them 5th and 25th in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 839 face-off wins as opposed to 801 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.2%. That is 12th overall in the NHL. On defense Buffalo has 618 hits and they've blocked 355 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 26th in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Avalanche start possessions in the offensive zone 48.7% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 51.3% for the year. That ranks them 22nd and 9th respectively in the NHL. They have 674 face-off wins as opposed to 878 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 43.4%. That is 31st in the league. On defense Colorado has 454 hits and they've blocked 367 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 23rd in blocked shots. Colorado is ranked 26th in Corsi percentage with 47.8% as they've tried 1,347 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 1,473 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 28th in the NHL at 47.4%, as they have 998 shots while they've given up 1,106 attempts on defense.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Colorado -142

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