Thursday, March 16, 2017

Staples Center

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The Buffalo Sabres travel to Staples Center to play the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday, March 16, 2017. The opening line for this game has the Sabres at +197 and the Kings at -220. The over/under has been set at 5.

Buffalo comes into this matchup having played 70 games. They have an overall record of 28-29-12 and on the road they have a record of 11-18-6. Currently they are 7th in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 178 goals and given up 207 goals for a point differential of -29. The Sabres have an overall record of 2-6-2 in their last 10 games. For the season they have an ATS record of 27-42 and an over/under record of 32-31-7. Los Angeles shows up with a record of 33-29-6 including 19-13-2 at home this season. They are 5th in the Pacific Division. They've scored 171 goals and surrendered 174 for a goal differential of -3. The Kings have a record of 4-3-3 in their last 10 contests. Their record against the spread is 31-36 while their over/under record sits at 20-30-19.

For expert handicapping advice on this game check out our NHL expert handicapper tips.

Sam Reinhart has accumulated 43 total points this season for the Sabres. He has 16 goals this season with 159 shots on goal giving him a shooting percentage of 10%. He has a total of 27 assists on the season and averages 17.5 minutes played per game. Kyle Okposo has averaged 19.1 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 13% by scoring 19 goals on 151 shots. He has 24 assists giving him a total of 43 points on the season. Robin Lehner has 19 wins and 20 losses this season in net for the Sabres. He has had 1,598 shots against him and has given up 127 goals. He has made 1,471 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Anze Kopitar has accumulated 40 total points this season for the Kings. He has 9 goals this season with 128 shots on goal giving him a shooting percentage of 7%. He has a total of 31 assists on the season and averages 20.8 minutes played per game. Jeff Carter has averaged 18.1 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 15% by scoring 31 goals on 213 shots. He has 28 assists giving him a total of 59 points on the season. Ben Bishop has 16 wins and 13 losses this season in net for the Kings. He has had 921 shots against him and has given up 83 goals. He has made 838 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

The Sabres have 68 total points this season. They have scored 177 goals while giving up 203 goals. They have had 211 power play opportunities and have scored 50 goals on those chances for a percentage of 24%. The Sabres have allowed 203 power play opportunities and given up 48 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 76%. They average 30 shots per game and as a team are shooting 8.46% for the season to this point. They allow 34 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 92%.

The Kings have a total of 72 points on the season. They have 38 power play goals on 198 opportunities thus far for a percentage of 19%. They have allowed 203 power play opportunities and have given up 31 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 85%. As a team, the Sabres have a total of 169 goals scored while they've given up 171 goals to this point. They average 31 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 7.97%. As a team they give up 26 shots per game and have a save percentage of 90%.

Buffalo has a Corsi percentage of 47.2% as they've attempted 3,717 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 4,161 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is at 47% as they have 2,841 attempts while they've given up 3,202 shots on the defensive end. The Sabres start possessions in the offensive zone 48.4% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 51.6% for the season. They have 2,084 face off wins compared to 2,084 losses, meaning their faceoff win percentage is 50%. On defense has 1,607 hits and they've blocked 959 shots from the opposition.

Los Angeles has attempted 4,142 shots at full strength and they've given up 3,405 attempts, meaning their Corsi percentage is at 54.9% for the season. In terms of Fenwick percentage, they currently are at 54.7% as they have 3,052 shots while they've given up 2,525 attempts on defense. The Kings have an offensive zone percentage of 56.5% and their defensive zone percentage is 43.5% so far this season. They have a faceoff win percentage of 50.2% as they've compiled 2,057 face off wins this season and they have suffered 2,043 face off losses. On defense has blocked 880 shot attempts and they have 1,995 hits as a unit.

Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres are 27-42 straight up

The Buffalo Sabres are 32-31-7 against the over/under

Los Angeles Kings Betting Trends

The Los Angeles Kings are 31-36 straight up

The Los Angeles Kings are 20-30-19 against the over/under

Buffalo Sabres Injuries

12/31/16 C Johan Larsson Wrist out for season
11/12/16 C Cody McCormick Blood Clot out indefinitely
03/14/17 D Cody Franson Facial "?" Thursday vs. Los Angeles
03/14/17 D Dmitry Kulikov Upper Body out indefinitely
03/03/17 RW Kyle Okposo Ribs out indefinitely
02/18/17 C Derek Grant Shoulder out indefinitely
02/10/17 C Zemgus Girgensons Abdominal out indefinitely
02/04/17 LW William Carrier Knee out indefinitely

Los Angeles Kings Injuries

03/14/17 C Nick Shore Upper Body out indefinitely
03/11/17 C Jordan Nolan Lower Body out indefinitely
02/23/17 D Paul La Due Upper Body out indefinitely
01/30/17 D Matt Greene Groin out indefinitely

Guy's Pick: Take Los Angeles -220

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