New Jersey Devils at Buffalo Sabres NHL Picks & Predictions 10/9/2017

Monday, October 9, 2017

KeyBank Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The New Jersey Devils travel to KeyBank Center to play the Buffalo Sabres on Monday, October 9, 2017. The opening line for this game has the Devils at +100 and the Sabres at -123.

New Jersey had a record of 28-40-14 last season and on the road they had a record of 12-23-6. They finished 8th in the Metropolitan Division. They scored 183 goals and gave up 244 goals for a point differential of -61. For the season they had an ATS record of 28-54-0 and an over/under record of 31-32-0. Buffalo finished with a record of 33-37-12 including 20-15-6 at home last season. They were 8th in the Atlantic Division. They scored 201 goals and surrendered 237 for a goal differential of -36. Their record against the spread was 33-49-0 while their over/under record was 37-38-0.

Valuable New Jersey Devils Betting Trends

The New Jersey Devils were 28-54-0 straight up last year

The New Jersey Devils were 31-32-0 against the over/under last season

Important Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres were 33-49-0 straight up last year

The Buffalo Sabres were 37-38-0 against the over/under last season

Key New Jersey Devils Injuries

10/07/17 C Brian Boyle Illness out indefinitely
10/07/17 RW Drew Stafford Lower Body left last game, "?" Monday vs. Buffalo
10/07/17 RW Kyle Palmieri Knee left last game, "?" Monday vs. Buffalo
10/07/17 C Travis Zajac Pectoral out indefinitely

Key Buffalo Sabres Injuries

10/07/17 D Justin Falk Lower Body "?"
10/07/17 D Zach Bogosian Lower Body "?"

Player Spotlight

Cory Schneider had 20 wins and 27 losses last season in net for the Devils. He had 1,781 shots against him and he gave up 163 goals. He made 1,618 saves for a save percentage of 91%. Marcus Johansson accumulated 57 total points last season for the Devils. He had 23 goals last year with 124 shots on goal giving him a shooting percentage of 19%. He had a total of 34 assists on the season and averaged 17 minutes played per game. Taylor Hall averaged 19.3 minutes of ice time per game last year. In that time he had a shooting percentage of 9% by scoring 20 goals on 229 shots. He had 33 assists giving him a total of 53 points on the season.

Player Spotlight

Rasmus Ristolainen scored 45 total points last year for the Sabres. He had 6 goals last season with 183 shots on goal giving him a shooting percentage of 3%. He had a total of 39 assists on the season and averaged 26.6 minutes played per game. Robin Lehner had 23 wins and 26 losses last year in goal for the Sabres. He had 1,910 shots against him and he surrendered 152 goals. He made 1,758 saves for a save percentage of 92%. Jack Eichel averaged 20 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he had a shooting percentage of 10% by scoring 24 goals on 241 shots. He had 33 assists giving him a total of 57 points on the season.

Useful Team Statistics

The Devils allowed 261 power play opportunities and gave up 53 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80% last year. That was 23rd in the NHL. They averaged 28 shots per game and as a team shot 8.03% for the season. They allowed 31 shots to their opposition per contest and had a team save percentage of 91%, which was ranked 22nd in the league. The Devils had 70 total points last season, ranking 28th in the NHL in offense. They were 28th in the league with 183 goals while giving up 244 goals, which was 6th overall. They had 251 power play opportunities and scored 44 goals on those chances for a percentage of 18%. That was 22nd in the NHL.

Useful Team Statistics

As a team, the Sabres were 25th with 201 goals scored while they were 10th in the NHL with 237 goals allowed last year. They averaged 30 shots per contest and had a team shooting percentage of 8.07%. They gave up 34 shots per game and had a save percentage of 92%, putting them in 4th place in the league. The Sabres had a total of 78 points last year, which was 26th in the NHL. They had 57 power play goals on 233 opportunities for a percentage of 24%. That ranked their power play unit 1st. They allowed 237 power play opportunities and gave up 53 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 78%, which was 25th overall.

Advanced Statistics

New Jersey had a Corsi percentage of 47.1% as they tried 4,026 shots on goal while at full strength while they surrendered 4,528 shots on net when they had a full team on the ice. That ranked them 29th in Corsi percentage. They were 28th in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 47.1% as they had 3,118 shots while they gave up 3,505 attempts on defense. The Devils started possessions in the offensive zone 47% of the time while their defensive zone percentage was at 53% for the year. That put them 29th and 2nd in the league in zone percentages respectively. They had 2,417 face-off wins as opposed to 2,492 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage was 49.2%. That was 20th overall in the NHL. On defense New Jersey had 1,655 hits and they blocked 1,023 attempts from opposing offenses, which was 28th in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Sabres started possessions in the offensive zone 48.7% of the time while their defensive zone percentage was at 51.3% for the year. That ranked them 21st and 4th respectively in the NHL. They had 2,445 face-off wins as opposed to 2,484 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage was 49.6%. That was 12th in the league. On defense Buffalo had 1,872 hits and they blocked 1,121 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 18th in blocked shots. Buffalo was ranked 28th in Corsi percentage with 47.2% as they tried 4,416 shots on goal while at full strength while they surrendered 4,939 shots on net when they had a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage was 27th in the NHL at 47%, as they had 3,384 shots while they gave up 3,818 attempts on defense.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Buffalo -123

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