Buffalo Sabres at Calgary Flames NHL Picks & Predictions 1/22/2018

Monday, January 22, 2018

Scotiabank Saddledome

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Buffalo Sabres head to Scotiabank Saddledome to take on the Calgary Flames on Monday, January 22, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Sabres at +175 and the Flames at -195.

Buffalo has a record of 11-26-9 this year and away from home they have a record of 5-14-6-0. They are 8th in the Atlantic Division. They have tallied 103 goals and surrendered 162 goals for a point differential of -59. For the year they have an ATS mark of 11-35-0 and an over/under record of 20-23-0. Calgary has a record of 25-16-5 including 12-11-1-1 on home ice this year. They are 3rd in the Pacific Division. They've scored 132 goals and have given up 127 for a goal differential of +5. Their record against the spread is 25-21-0 while their over/under mark is 20-25-0.

Valuable Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres are 11-35-0 straight up this year

The Buffalo Sabres are 20-23-0 against the over/under this season

Important Calgary Flames Betting Trends

The Calgary Flames are 25-21-0 straight up this year

The Calgary Flames are 20-25-0 against the over/under this season

Key Buffalo Sabres Injuries

01/21/18 D Nathan Beaulieu Illness is "?" Monday vs Calgary
01/21/18 D Victor Antipin Illness is out indefinitely
01/10/18 C Jacob Josefson Lower Body IR (01/09)
01/10/18 D Zach Bogosian Lower Body IR (01/09)

Key Calgary Flames Injuries

12/29/17 RW Michael Frolik Jaw IR (12/28)
12/01/17 RW Kris Versteeg Lower Body IR (11/24)
01/10/18 RW Jaromir Jagr Groin IR (12/30)

Player Spotlight

Evander Kane has scored 36 total points this year for the Sabres. He has 16 goals this season with 186 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 9%. He has a total of 20 assists on the year and averages 19.7 minutes played per contest. Jack Eichel averages 20.4 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 11% by tallying 18 goals on 160 attempts. He has 26 assists, giving him a total of 44 points on the year. Robin Lehner has 9 wins and 18 losses this season in goal for the Sabres. He has 1,017 shots against him and he's surrendered 95 goals. He's made 922 stops for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Johnny Gaudreau has 54 total points this season for the Flames. He has 15 goals this year with 131 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 12%. He has a total of 39 assists on the year and averages 19.1 minutes played per contest. Sean Monahan averages 18.5 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 19% by scoring 21 goals on 113 attempts. He has 21 assists, giving him a total of 42 points on the year. Mike Smith has 20 wins and 13 losses this season in net for the Flames. He has 1,231 shots against him and he's given up 92 goals. He's made 1,139 saves for a save percentage of 93%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sabres have 31 total points this year, which is 31st in the NHL. They've scored 103 goals while giving up 162 scores, which has them ranked 31st and 3rd respectively. They have had 140 power play chances and scored 20 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 14%. That is 30th in the league. The Sabres have given up 138 power play opportunities and surrendered 30 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 78%, ranking them 25th when short-handed. They average 31 shots per contest and as a team shoot 7.23% for the year. They allow 33 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 89%, which is 31st in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Flames are 12th in the league with a total of 55 points this season. They have 28 power play goals on 156 chances for a percentage of 18%. That is 20th in the NHL. They've given up 151 power play opportunities and surrendered 30 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%, ranking 18th overall. As a team, the Flames are 18th with a total of 132 goals scored while they've given up 127 goals this season, ranking 25th in goals against. They average 33 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 8.82%. As a unit they give up 32 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 92%, putting them 7th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Buffalo is 22nd in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 48.3%, as they've attempted 2,504 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,678 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 48.3% as they have 1,917 attempts while they have given up 2,049 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 22nd in the league. The Sabres start possessions in the offensive zone 52.4% of the time, which is 8th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 47.6% for the season. That is 20th overall in the NHL. They have 1,423 face-off wins compared to 1,358 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.2%. That ranks them 10th in the league. On defense Buffalo has 1,063 hits and they have blocked 629 shots from the opposition, putting them 27th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Flames are 13th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 51.2% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 48.8% for the season, which is 15th in the NHL. They have 1,412 face-off wins compared to 1,435 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49.6%. That is 16th in the league. On defense Calgary has 806 hits and they have blocked 630 shots from the opposition, which is 25th in the league. Calgary is 5th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 51.8% as they've attempted 2,905 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,703 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 50.9% ranks 11th as they have 2,147 attempts while they have given up 2,073 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Buffalo +175

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