Saturday, February 18, 2017

First Niagara Center

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The St. Louis Blues travel to First Niagara Center to play the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, February 18, 2017. The opening line for this game has the Blues at -130 and the Sabres at +110. The over/under has been set at 5.

St. Louis comes into this matchup having played 58 games. They have an overall record of 30-22-5 and on the road they have a record of 13-13-1. Currently they are 3rd in the Central Division. They've scored 167 goals and given up 168 goals for a point differential of -1. The Blues have an overall record of 7-3-0 in their last 10 games. For the season they have an ATS record of 29-27 and an over/under record of 27-23-8. Buffalo shows up with a record of 24-23-10 including 14-10-4 at home this season. They are 6th in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 143 goals and surrendered 161 for a goal differential of -18. The Sabres have a record of 5-4-1 in their last 10 contests. Their record against the spread is 23-33 while their over/under record sits at 24-29-5.

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

Kevin Shattenkirk has accumulated 39 total points this season for the Blues. He has 11 goals this season with 109 shots on goal giving him a shooting percentage of 10%. He has a total of 28 assists on the season and averages 20 minutes played per game. Vladimir Tarasenko has averaged 18 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 14% by scoring 26 goals on 183 shots. He has 27 assists giving him a total of 53 points on the season. Jake Allen has 21 wins and 14 losses this season in net for the Blues. He has had 1,026 shots against him and has given up 99 goals. He has made 927 saves for a save percentage of 90%.

Kyle Okposo has accumulated 38 total points this season for the Sabres. He has 18 goals this season with 138 shots on goal giving him a shooting percentage of 13%. He has a total of 20 assists on the season and averages 19 minutes played per game. Sam Reinhart has averaged 17 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 9% by scoring 12 goals on 127 shots. He has 24 assists giving him a total of 36 points on the season. Robin Lehner has 15 wins and 16 losses this season in net for the Sabres. He has had 1,282 shots against him and has given up 97 goals. He has made 1,185 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

The Blues have 65 total points this season. They have scored 163 goals while giving up 165 goals. They have had 169 power play opportunities and have scored 36 goals on those chances for a percentage of 21%. The Blues have allowed 193 power play opportunities and given up 30 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 84%. They average 28 shots per game and as a team are shooting 10.36% for the season to this point. They allow 28 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 90%.

The Sabres have a total of 58 points on the season. They have 39 power play goals on 169 opportunities thus far for a percentage of 23%. They have allowed 171 power play opportunities and have given up 44 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 74%. As a team, the Blues have a total of 141 goals scored while they've given up 161 goals to this point. They average 30 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 8.37%. As a team they give up 34 shots per game and have a save percentage of 92%.

St. Louis has a Corsi percentage of 49.9% as they've attempted 2,964 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,970 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is at 50.4% as they have 2,217 attempts while they've given up 2,184 shots on the defensive end. The Blues start possessions in the offensive zone 50% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 50% for the season. They have 1,696 face off wins compared to 1,680 losses, meaning their faceoff win percentage is 50.2%. On defense St. Louis has 1,217 hits and they've blocked 786 shots from the opposition.

Buffalo has attempted 3,034 shots at full strength and they've given up 3,486 attempts, meaning their Corsi percentage is at 46.5% for the season. In terms of Fenwick percentage, they currently are at 46.2% as they have 2,296 shots while they've given up 2,674 attempts on defense. The Sabres have an offensive zone percentage of 47.6% and their defensive zone percentage is 52.4% so far this season. They have a faceoff win percentage of 50.3% as they've compiled 1,734 face off wins this season and they have suffered 1,710 face off losses. On defense Buffalo has blocked 812 shot attempts and they have 1,370 hits as a unit.

St. Louis Blues Betting Trends

The St. Louis Blues are 29-27 straight up

The St. Louis Blues are 27-23-8 against the over/under

Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres are 23-33 straight up

The Buffalo Sabres are 24-29-5 against the over/under

St. Louis Blues Injuries

02/14/17 C Paul Stastny Leg out indefinitely
02/05/17 C Robby Fabbri Knee out for season
01/26/17 C Kyle Brodziak Foot 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
02/10/17 D Cody Franson Foot 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 +110

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