Philadelphia Flyers at Buffalo Sabres NHL Picks & Predictions 12/22/2017

Friday, December 22, 2017

KeyBank Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Philadelphia Flyers travel to KeyBank Center to play the Buffalo Sabres on Friday, December 22, 2017. The opening line for this game has the Flyers at -120 and the Sabres at +109.

Philadelphia has a record of 15-12-7 this season and on the road they have a record of 7-5-3-1. They are 6th in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 96 goals and given up 97 goals for a point differential of -1. For the season they have an ATS record of 15-19-0 and an over/under record of 17-15-0. Buffalo is 8-19-7 including 4-10-2-1 at home this season. They are 8th in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 72 goals and surrendered 114 for a goal differential of -42. Their record against the spread is 8-26-0 while their over/under record is 12-19-0.

Valuable Philadelphia Flyers Betting Trends

The Philadelphia Flyers are 15-19-0 straight up this year

The Philadelphia Flyers are 17-15-0 against the over/under this season

Important Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres are 8-26-0 straight up this year

The Buffalo Sabres are 12-19-0 against the over/under this season

Key Philadelphia Flyers Injuries

12/21/17 LW Taylor Leier Upper Body is "?" Friday vs Buffalo
12/06/17 D Brandon Manning Upper Body IR (12/05)
12/06/17 GO Michal Neuvirth Lower Body IR (12/05)
11/06/17 RW Colin McDonald Lower Body IR (10/03)
10/15/17 GO Anthony Stolarz Knee IR (10/03)

Key Buffalo Sabres Injuries

11/27/17 C Jacob Josefson Ankle IR (11/26)
11/17/17 D Taylor Fedun Lower Body IR (11/15)

Player Spotlight

Claude Giroux has accumulated 39 total points this season for the Flyers. He has 13 goals this year with 64 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 20%. He has a total of 26 assists on the season and averages 20.2 minutes played per game. Jakub Voracek averages 19.6 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 7% by scoring 8 goals on 120 shots. He has 34 assists, giving him a total of 42 points on the season. Brian Elliott has 13 wins and 7 losses this season in net for the Flyers. He has 806 shots against him and he's given up 71 goals. He's made 735 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Jack Eichel has scored 28 total points this year for the Sabres. He has 11 goals this season with 112 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 10%. He has a total of 17 assists on the season and averages 20.6 minutes played per game. Evander Kane averages 20 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 10% by scoring 14 goals on 142 shots. He has 17 assists, giving him a total of 31 points on the season. Robin Lehner has 7 wins and 14 losses this year in goal for the Sabres. He has 754 shots against him and he's surrendered 65 goals. He's made 689 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Flyers have 37 total points this season, which ranks them 19th in the NHL. They are 22nd in the league in goals scored with 96 while they've given up 97 goals, ranking them 23rd overall. They have had 115 power play opportunities and have scored 23 goals on those chances for a percentage of 20%. That is 16th in the NHL. The Flyers have allowed 109 power play opportunities and have given up 26 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 76%, putting them 28th in the league when short-handed. They average 32 shots per game and as a team shoot 8.84% for the season. They allow 31 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 91%. That puts them 16th in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sabres are 30th in the NHL with a total of 23 points this year. They have 13 power play goals on 102 opportunities for a percentage of 13%. That ranks them 30th in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 103 power play opportunities and have given up 18 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83%. That is 11th in the NHL. As a team, the Sabres are 31st in the league with 72 goals scored while they've given up 114 goals, which is 4th overall. They average 31 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 6.86%. As a team they give up 32 shots per game and have a save percentage of 90%. That is 26th in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Philadelphia is 15th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50.2%, as they've attempted 1,969 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,955 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 50.3% as they have 1,467 attempts while they have given up 1,447 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 16th in the league. The Flyers start possessions in the offensive zone 50.6% of the time, which is 16th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 49.4% for the season. That is 18th overall in the NHL. They have 1,089 face-off wins compared to 970 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 52.9%. That ranks them 4th in the league. On defense Philadelphia has 709 hits and they have blocked 508 shots from the opposition, putting them 14th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Sabres start possessions in the offensive zone 52.8% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 47.2% for the year. That ranks them 8th and 22nd respectively in the NHL. They have 1,052 face-off wins as opposed to 993 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.4%. That is 10th in the league. On defense Buffalo has 797 hits and they've blocked 488 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 22nd in blocked shots. Buffalo is ranked 23rd in Corsi percentage with 48.3% as they've tried 1,852 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 1,985 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 17th in the NHL at 48.5%, as they have 1,407 shots while they've given up 1,497 attempts on defense.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Buffalo +109

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