Buffalo Sabres at New York Islanders NHL Picks & Predictions 12/27/2017

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Barclays Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Buffalo Sabres travel to Barclays Center to play the New York Islanders on Wednesday, December 27, 2017. The opening line for this game has the Sabres at +161 and the Islanders at -177.

Buffalo has a record of 9-20-7 this season and on the road they have a record of 4-10-5-0. They are 8th in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 78 goals and given up 120 goals for a point differential of -42. For the season they have an ATS record of 9-27-0 and an over/under record of 14-19-0. New York has a record of 19-13-4 including 11-3-3-1 at home this season. They are 5th in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 130 goals and surrendered 127 for a goal differential of +3. Their record against the spread is 19-17-0 while their over/under record is 25-10-0.

Valuable Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres are 9-27-0 straight up this year

The Buffalo Sabres are 14-19-0 against the over/under this season

Important New York Islanders Betting Trends

The New York Islanders are 19-17-0 straight up this year

The New York Islanders are 25-10-0 against the over/under this season

Key Buffalo Sabres Injuries

12/23/17 C Ryan O'Reilly Personal is "?" Wednesday vs NY Islanders
11/27/17 C Jacob Josefson Ankle IR (11/26)
11/17/17 D Taylor Fedun Lower Body IR (11/15)

Key New York Islanders Injuries

12/18/17 D Calvin de Haan Shoulder IR (12/08)
11/08/17 LW Nikolay Kulemin Upper Body IR (11/06)

Player Spotlight

Robin Lehner has 8 wins and 14 losses this season in net for the Sabres. He has 789 shots against him and he's given up 67 goals. He's made 722 saves for a save percentage of 92%. Jack Eichel has accumulated 32 total points this season for the Sabres. He has 13 goals this year with 119 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 11%. He has a total of 19 assists on the season and averages 20.5 minutes played per game. Evander Kane averages 19.9 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 10% by scoring 15 goals on 152 shots. He has 18 assists, giving him a total of 33 points on the season.

Player Spotlight

Josh Bailey has scored 46 total points this year for the Islanders. He has 10 goals this season with 60 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 17%. He has a total of 36 assists on the season and averages 18 minutes played per game. Jaroslav Halak has 10 wins and 8 losses this year in goal for the Islanders. He has 628 shots against him and he's surrendered 59 goals. He's made 569 saves for a save percentage of 91%. Anders Lee averages 17.1 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 26% by scoring 22 goals on 85 shots. He has 15 assists, giving him a total of 37 points on the season.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sabres have allowed 112 power play opportunities and have given up 20 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 82% this year. That is 12th in the NHL. They average 31 shots per game and as a team shoot 7.04% for the season. They allow 32 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 90%, which is ranked 26th in the league. The Sabres has 25 total points this season, ranking 30th in the NHL in offense. They are 31st in the league with 78 goals while they've given up 120 goals, which is 4th overall. They have had 106 power play opportunities and scored 13 goals on those chances for a percentage of 12%. That is 30th in the NHL.

Useful Team Statistics

As a team, the Islanders are 2nd with 130 goals scored while they are 2nd in the NHL with 127 goals allowed this year. They average 31 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 11.67%. They give up 33 shots per game and have a save percentage of 89%, putting them in 30th place in the league. The Islanders have a total of 42 points this year, which is 13th in the NHL. They have 28 power play goals on 123 opportunities for a percentage of 23%. That ranks their power play unit 5th. They've allowed 106 power play opportunities and have given up 28 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 74%, which is 30th overall.

Advanced Statistics

Buffalo has a Corsi percentage of 47.9% as they've tried 1,944 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 2,114 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 24th in Corsi percentage. They are 22nd in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 48.1% as they have 1,481 shots while they've given up 1,599 attempts on defense. The Sabres start possessions in the offensive zone 52.5% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 47.5% for the year. That puts them 8th and 21st in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 1,101 face-off wins as opposed to 1,069 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.7%. That is 10th overall in the NHL. On defense Buffalo has 842 hits and they've blocked 515 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 22nd in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Islanders are 24th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 49.1% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 50.9% for the season, which is 10th in the NHL. They have 1,047 face-off wins compared to 1,117 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48.4%. That is 27th in the league. On defense New York has 770 hits and they have blocked 533 shots from the opposition, which is 17th in the league. New York is 19th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 48.8% as they've attempted 2,046 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,145 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 48.4% ranks 25th as they have 1,514 attempts while they have given up 1,612 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take New York -177

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