Washington Capitals at Buffalo Sabres NHL Picks & Predictions 11/7/2017

Tuesday, November 7, 2017

KeyBank Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Washington Capitals travel to KeyBank Center to play the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday, November 7, 2017. The opening line for this game has the Capitals at -115 and the Sabres at +104.

Washington has a record of 7-6-1 this season and on the road they have a record of 5-3-1. They are 6th in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 43 goals and given up 46 goals for a point differential of -3. For the season they have an ATS record of 7-7-0 and an over/under record of 9-5-0. Buffalo is 4-8-2 including 1-3-1 at home this season. They are 8th in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 35 goals and surrendered 53 for a goal differential of -18. Their record against the spread is 4-10-0 while their over/under record is 8-4-0.

Valuable Washington Capitals Betting Trends

The Washington Capitals are 7-7-0 straight up this year

The Washington Capitals are 9-5-0 against the over/under this season

Important Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres are 4-10-0 straight up this year

The Buffalo Sabres are 8-4-0 against the over/under this season

Key Washington Capitals Injuries

11/04/17 RW Brett Connolly Head is "?" Monday vs. Phoenix
10/27/17 C Tyler Graovac Upper Body IR (10/27)
10/24/17 LW Andre Burakovsky Thumb IR (10/24)
10/14/17 D Matt Niskanen Upper Body IR (10/13)

Key Buffalo Sabres Injuries

11/06/17 LW Evan Rodrigues Hand is upgraded to "?" Tuesday vs. Washington
11/04/17 D Rasmus Ristolainen Upper Body is "?" Tuesday vs. Washington
11/04/17 RW Justin Bailey Lower Body is "?" Tuesday vs. Washington
11/03/17 D Nathan Beaulieu Upper Body IR (10/20)
10/21/17 D Josh Gorges Lower Body IR (10/18)
10/19/17 C Jacob Josefson Ankle IR (10/15)
10/13/17 D Zach Bogosian Lower Body IR (10/14)

Player Spotlight

Alex Ovechkin has accumulated 16 total points this season for the Capitals. He has 11 goals this year with 67 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 16%. He has a total of 5 assists on the season and averages 18.5 minutes played per game. Nicklas Backstrom averages 20 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 14% by scoring 3 goals on 21 shots. He has 9 assists, giving him a total of 12 points on the season. Braden Holtby has 7 wins and 3 losses this season in net for the Capitals. He has 329 shots against him and he's given up 26 goals. He's made 303 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Player Spotlight

Jason Pominville has scored 12 total points this year for the Sabres. He has 6 goals this season with 28 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 21%. He has a total of 6 assists on the season and averages 16.3 minutes played per game. Evander Kane averages 19.6 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 10% by scoring 7 goals on 69 shots. He has 6 assists, giving him a total of 13 points on the season. Robin Lehner has 3 wins and 5 losses this year in goal for the Sabres. He has 250 shots against him and he's surrendered 26 goals. He's made 224 saves for a save percentage of 90%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Capitals have 15 total points this season, which ranks them 21st in the NHL. They are 15th in the league in goals scored with 43 while they've given up 46 goals, ranking them 11th overall. They have had 43 power play opportunities and have scored 8 goals on those chances for a percentage of 19%. That is 16th in the NHL. The Capitals have allowed 59 power play opportunities and have given up 15 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 75%, putting them 27th in the league when short-handed. They average 28 shots per game and as a team shoot 10.80% for the season. They allow 34 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 90%. That puts them 20th in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sabres are 28th in the NHL with a total of 10 points this year. They have 6 power play goals on 48 opportunities for a percentage of 13%. That ranks them 29th in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 43 power play opportunities and have given up 8 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 81%. That is 12th in the NHL. As a team, the Sabres are 26th in the league with 35 goals scored while they've given up 53 goals, which is 6th overall. They average 31 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 8.01%. As a team they give up 32 shots per game and have a save percentage of 88%. That is 29th in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Washington has a Corsi percentage of 46.7% as they've tried 751 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 858 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 28th in Corsi percentage. They are 30th in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 45.2% as they have 552 shots while they've given up 668 attempts on defense. The Capitals start possessions in the offensive zone 48.1% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 51.9% for the year. That puts them 25th and 8th in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 440 face-off wins as opposed to 431 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.5%. That is 16th overall in the NHL. On defense Washington has 285 hits and they've blocked 190 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 23rd in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Sabres are 7th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 53.6% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 46.4% for the season, which is 23rd in the NHL. They have 444 face-off wins compared to 432 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.7%. That is 13th in the league. On defense Buffalo has 307 hits and they have blocked 192 shots from the opposition, which is 22nd in the league. Buffalo is 22nd in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 49.2% as they've attempted 772 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 796 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 49.5% ranks 14th as they have 592 attempts while they have given up 604 shots on the defensive end.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Buffalo +104

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