Buffalo Sabres at Pittsburgh Penguins NHL Picks & Predictions 12/2/2017

Saturday, December 2, 2017

PPG Paints Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Buffalo Sabres head to PPG Paints Arena to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, December 2, 2017. The opening line for this contest has the Sabres at +145 and the Penguins at -160.

Buffalo has a record of 6-15-4 this year and away from home they have a record of 3-7-3. They are 8th in the Atlantic Division. They have tallied 55 goals and surrendered 85 goals for a point differential of -30. For the year they have an ATS mark of 6-19-0 and an over/under record of 10-13-0. Pittsburgh has a record of 13-10-3 including 8-2-1 on home ice this year. They are 4th in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 74 goals and have given up 90 for a goal differential of -16. Their record against the spread is 13-13-0 while their over/under mark is 15-11-0.

Valuable Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres are 6-19-0 straight up this year

The Buffalo Sabres are 10-13-0 against the over/under this season

Important Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Trends

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 13-13-0 straight up this year

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 15-11-0 against the over/under this season

Key Buffalo Sabres Injuries

11/28/17 D Zach Bogosian Lower Body is "?" Friday vs Pittsburgh
11/27/17 C Jacob Josefson Ankle IR (11/26)
11/17/17 D Taylor Fedun Lower Body IR (11/15)
11/14/17 D Matt Tennyson Foot IR (11/05)

Key Pittsburgh Penguins Injuries

11/30/17 C Evgeni Malkin Upper Body is upgraded to probable Friday vs Buffalo
11/28/17 GO Matt Murray Lower Body IR (11/28)

Player Spotlight

Evander Kane has scored 23 total points this year for the Sabres. He has 12 goals this season with 117 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 10%. He has a total of 11 assists on the year and averages 20.1 minutes played per contest. Jason Pominville averages 15.4 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 12% by tallying 6 goals on 49 attempts. He has 8 assists, giving him a total of 14 points on the year. Robin Lehner has 5 wins and 11 losses this season in goal for the Sabres. He has 512 shots against him and he's surrendered 48 goals. He's made 464 stops for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Sidney Crosby has 25 total points this season for the Penguins. He has 10 goals this year with 85 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 12%. He has a total of 15 assists on the year and averages 20.8 minutes played per contest. Phil Kessel averages 18.2 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 11% by scoring 11 goals on 99 attempts. He has 21 assists, giving him a total of 32 points on the year. Tristan Jarry has 2 wins and no losses this season in net for the Penguins. He has 107 shots against him and he's given up 10 goals. He's made 97 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sabres have 16 total points this year, which is 31st in the NHL. They've scored 55 goals while giving up 85 scores, which has them ranked 31st and 3rd respectively. They have had 78 power play chances and scored 10 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 13%. That is 30th in the league. The Sabres have given up 74 power play opportunities and surrendered 14 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 81%, ranking them 13th when short-handed. They average 31 shots per contest and as a team shoot 7.12% for the year. They allow 31 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 89%, which is 29th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Penguins are 11th in the league with a total of 29 points this season. They have 26 power play goals on 99 chances for a percentage of 26%. That is 2nd in the NHL. They've given up 103 power play opportunities and surrendered 24 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 77%, ranking 26th overall. As a team, the Penguins are 12th with a total of 74 goals scored while they've given up 90 goals this season, ranking 2nd in goals against. They average 36 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 7.99%. As a unit they give up 32 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 89%, putting them 30th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Buffalo is 20th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 49.2%, as they've attempted 1,358 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,404 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 49.1% as they have 1,037 attempts while they have given up 1,073 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 20th in the league. The Sabres start possessions in the offensive zone 53.3% of the time, which is 8th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 46.7% for the season. That is 22nd overall in the NHL. They have 782 face-off wins compared to 740 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.4%. That ranks them 11th in the league. On defense Buffalo has 556 hits and they have blocked 331 shots from the opposition, putting them 25th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Penguins are 6th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 53.8% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 46.2% for the season, which is 25th in the NHL. They have 843 face-off wins compared to 844 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50%. That is 20th in the league. On defense Pittsburgh has 620 hits and they have blocked 394 shots from the opposition, which is 3rd in the league. Pittsburgh is 11th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 51.3% as they've attempted 1,592 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,510 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 52.5% ranks 6th as they have 1,235 attempts while they have given up 1,116 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Buffalo +145

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