Saturday, March 11, 2017

First Niagara Center

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The Columbus Blue Jackets travel to First Niagara Center to play the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, March 11, 2017. The opening line for this game has the Blue Jackets at -185 and the Sabres at +166. The over/under has been set at 5.

Columbus comes into this matchup having played 65 games. They have an overall record of 42-17-6 and on the road they have a record of 18-8-5. Currently they are 2nd in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 207 goals and given up 149 goals for a point differential of +58. The Blue Jackets have an overall record of 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. For the season they have an ATS record of 40-23 and an over/under record of 26-35-4. Buffalo shows up with a record of 27-28-12 including 16-12-6 at home this season. They are 7th in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 169 goals and surrendered 196 for a goal differential of -27. The Sabres have a record of 3-5-2 in their last 10 contests. Their record against the spread is 26-40 while their over/under record sits at 30-31-6.

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

Zach Werenski has accumulated 39 total points this season for the Blue Jackets. He has 9 goals this season with 162 shots on goal giving him a shooting percentage of 6%. He has a total of 30 assists on the season and averages 21.1 minutes played per game. Cam Atkinson has averaged 18.2 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 16% by scoring 30 goals on 194 shots. He has 26 assists giving him a total of 56 points on the season. Sergei Bobrovsky has 35 wins and 13 losses this season in net for the Blue Jackets. He has had 1,499 shots against him and has given up 104 goals. He has made 1,395 saves for a save percentage of 93%.

Sam Reinhart has accumulated 41 total points this season for the Sabres. He has 15 goals this season with 156 shots on goal giving him a shooting percentage of 10%. He has a total of 26 assists on the season and averages 17.5 minutes played per game. Kyle Okposo has averaged 19.1 minutes of ice time per game. 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 18 wins and 19 losses this season in net for the Sabres. He has had 1,535 shots against him and has given up 123 goals. He has made 1,412 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

The Blue Jackets have 90 total points this season. They have scored 207 goals while giving up 149 goals. They have had 179 power play opportunities and have scored 38 goals on those chances for a percentage of 21%. The Blue Jackets have allowed 172 power play opportunities and given up 29 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83%. They average 31 shots per game and as a team are shooting 10.37% for the season to this point. They allow 30 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 92%.

The Sabres have a total of 66 points on the season. They have 48 power play goals on 205 opportunities thus far for a percentage of 23%. They have allowed 197 power play opportunities and have given up 46 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 77%. As a team, the Blue Jackets have a total of 169 goals scored while they've given up 196 goals to this point. They average 30 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 8.33%. As a team they give up 34 shots per game and have a save percentage of 92%.

Columbus has a Corsi percentage of 49.7% as they've attempted 3,622 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 3,664 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is at 49.8% as they have 2,712 attempts while they've given up 2,733 shots on the defensive end. The Blue Jackets start possessions in the offensive zone 49.7% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 50.3% for the season. They have 1,926 face off wins compared to 2,050 losses, meaning their faceoff win percentage is 48.4%. On defense has 1,252 hits and they've blocked 931 shots from the opposition.

Buffalo has attempted 3,609 shots at full strength and they've given up 4,042 attempts, meaning their Corsi percentage is at 47.2% for the season. In terms of Fenwick percentage, they currently are at 47% as they have 2,756 shots while they've given up 3,114 attempts on defense. The Sabres have an offensive zone percentage of 48.2% and their defensive zone percentage is 51.8% so far this season. They have a faceoff win percentage of 49.8% as they've compiled 2,015 face off wins this season and they have suffered 2,029 face off losses. On defense has blocked 928 shot attempts and they have 1,568 hits as a unit.

Columbus Blue Jackets Betting Trends

The Columbus Blue Jackets are 40-23 straight up

The Columbus Blue Jackets are 26-35-4 against the over/under

Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres are 26-40 straight up

The Buffalo Sabres are 30-31-6 against the over/under

Columbus Blue Jackets Injuries

10/10/16 RW David Clarkson Back out indefinitely
03/07/17 D Ryan Murray Lower Body "?" Friday vs. Buffalo
03/06/17 RW Josh Anderson Knee out indefinitely
02/28/17 LW Matt Calvert Oblique out indefinitely
02/24/17 LW Lukas Sedlak Lower Body out indefinitely
01/20/17 D Markus Nutivaara Lower Body out indefinitely

Buffalo Sabres Injuries

12/31/16 C Johan Larsson Wrist out for season
11/12/16 C Cody McCormick Blood Clot out indefinitely
03/07/17 D Dmitry Kulikov Upper Body "?" Friday vs. Columbus
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

Guy's Pick: Take Buffalo +166

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