Buffalo Sabres at Philadelphia Flyers NHL Picks & Predictions 12/14/2017

Thursday, December 14, 2017

Wells Fargo Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Buffalo Sabres head to Wells Fargo Center to take on the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday, December 14, 2017. The opening line for this contest has the Sabres at +149 and the Flyers at -165.

Buffalo has a record of 8-17-6 this year and away from home they have a record of 4-8-5. They are 8th in the Atlantic Division. They have tallied 67 goals and surrendered 104 goals for a point differential of -37. For the year they have an ATS mark of 8-23-0 and an over/under record of 11-17-0. Philadelphia has a record of 12-11-7 including 5-6-4 on home ice this year. They are 7th in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 87 goals and have given up 88 for a goal differential of -1. Their record against the spread is 12-18-0 while their over/under mark is 16-13-0.

Valuable Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres are 8-23-0 straight up this year

The Buffalo Sabres are 11-17-0 against the over/under this season

Important Philadelphia Flyers Betting Trends

The Philadelphia Flyers are 12-18-0 straight up this year

The Philadelphia Flyers are 16-13-0 against the over/under this season

Key Buffalo Sabres Injuries

12/12/17 D Nathan Beaulieu Illness is "?" Thursday vs Philadelphia
11/27/17 C Jacob Josefson Ankle IR (11/26)
11/17/17 D Taylor Fedun Lower Body IR (11/15)

Key Philadelphia Flyers Injuries

12/12/17 C Jori Lehtera Illness is "?" Thursday vs Buffalo
12/06/17 D Brandon Manning Upper Body IR (12/06)
12/06/17 GO Michal Neuvirth Lower Body IR (12/06)
11/06/17 RW Colin McDonald Lower Body IR (10/03)
10/15/17 GO Anthony Stolarz Knee IR (10/03)

Player Spotlight

Jack Eichel has scored 24 total points this year for the Sabres. He has 8 goals this season with 97 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 8%. He has a total of 16 assists on the year and averages 20.6 minutes played per contest. Evander Kane averages 20 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 11% by tallying 14 goals on 131 attempts. He has 14 assists, giving him a total of 28 points on the year. Robin Lehner has 7 wins and 12 losses this season in goal for the Sabres. He has 696 shots against him and he's surrendered 62 goals. He's made 634 stops for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Claude Giroux has 34 total points this season for the Flyers. He has 13 goals this year with 57 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 23%. He has a total of 21 assists on the year and averages 20.2 minutes played per contest. Jakub Voracek averages 19.5 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 6% by scoring 7 goals on 109 attempts. He has 30 assists, giving him a total of 37 points on the year. Brian Elliott has 10 wins and 6 losses this season in net for the Flyers. He has 705 shots against him and he's given up 62 goals. He's made 643 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sabres have 22 total points this year, which is 30th in the NHL. They've scored 67 goals while giving up 104 scores, which has them ranked 31st and 3rd respectively. They have had 98 power play chances and scored 13 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 13%. That is 30th in the league. The Sabres have given up 97 power play opportunities and surrendered 18 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 81%, ranking them 16th when short-handed. They average 31 shots per contest and as a team shoot 7.04% for the year. They allow 32 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 90%, which is 26th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Flyers are 23rd in the league with a total of 31 points this season. They have 19 power play goals on 100 chances for a percentage of 19%. That is 16th in the NHL. They've given up 102 power play opportunities and surrendered 24 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 76%, ranking 29th overall. As a team, the Flyers are 21st with a total of 87 goals scored while they've given up 88 goals this season, ranking 22nd in goals against. They average 32 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 9.05%. As a unit they give up 32 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 91%, putting them 14th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Buffalo has a Corsi percentage of 48.1% as they've tried 1,675 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 1,809 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 23rd in Corsi percentage. They are 18th in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 48.5% as they have 1,276 shots while they've given up 1,357 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 19th in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 951 face-off wins as opposed to 916 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.9%. That is 11th overall in the NHL. On defense Buffalo has 722 hits and they've blocked 452 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 16th in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Flyers start possessions in the offensive zone 49.7% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 50.3% for the year. That ranks them 18th and 13th respectively in the NHL. They have 964 face-off wins as opposed to 867 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 52.6%. That is 4th in the league. On defense Philadelphia has 603 hits and they've blocked 450 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 18th in blocked shots. Philadelphia is ranked 16th in Corsi percentage with 49.6% as they've tried 1,731 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 1,757 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 17th in the NHL at 49.7%, as they have 1,293 shots while they've given up 1,307 attempts on defense.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Buffalo +149

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