Buffalo Sabres at Detroit Red Wings NHL Picks & Predictions 2/22/2018

Thursday, February 22, 2018

Little Ceasars Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Buffalo Sabres head to Little Ceasars Arena to take on the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday, February 22, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Sabres at +125 and the Red Wings at -175.

Buffalo has a record of 17-32-11 this year and away from home they have a record of 9-14-7-0. They are 8th in the Atlantic Division. They have tallied 143 goals and surrendered 198 goals for a point differential of -55. For the year they have an ATS mark of 17-43-0 and an over/under record of 27-30-0. Detroit has a record of 24-26-9 including 12-13-7-1 on home ice this year. They are 5th in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 157 goals and have given up 177 for a goal differential of -20. Their record against the spread is 24-35-0 while their over/under mark is 24-35-0.

Valuable Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres are 17-43-0 straight up this year

The Buffalo Sabres are 27-30-0 against the over/under this season

Important Detroit Red Wings Betting Trends

The Detroit Red Wings are 24-35-0 straight up this year

The Detroit Red Wings are 24-35-0 against the over/under this season

Key Buffalo Sabres Injuries

02/19/18 D Rasmus Ristolainen Undisclosed injured last game, is "?" Thursday vs Detroit
02/19/18 GO Robin Lehner Hip is "?" Thursday vs Detroit
02/11/18 C Jack Eichel Ankle IR (02/09)
02/08/18 D Jake McCabe Shoulder IR (02/06)
01/27/18 D Zach Bogosian Hip IR (01/09)

Key Detroit Red Wings Injuries

02/20/18 D Mike Green Upper Body is "?" Thursday vs Buffalo

Player Spotlight

Ryan O'Reilly has scored 44 total points this year for the Sabres. He has 18 goals this season with 161 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 11%. He has a total of 26 assists on the year and averages 20.5 minutes played per contest. Evander Kane averages 19.4 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 9% by tallying 19 goals on 224 attempts. He has 20 assists, giving him a total of 39 points on the year. Robin Lehner has 12 wins and 22 losses this season in goal for the Sabres. He has 1,295 shots against him and he's surrendered 117 goals. He's made 1,178 stops for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Anthony Mantha has 36 total points this season for the Red Wings. He has 20 goals this year with 138 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 15%. He has a total of 16 assists on the year and averages 17.1 minutes played per contest. Henrik Zetterberg averages 0 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 0% by scoring 8 goals on 126 attempts. He has 32 assists, giving him a total of 40 points on the year. Jimmy Howard has 16 wins and 19 losses this season in net for the Red Wings. He has 1,244 shots against him and he's given up 112 goals. He's made 1,132 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sabres have 45 total points this year, which is 30th in the NHL. They've scored 143 goals while giving up 198 scores, which has them ranked 31st and 3rd respectively. They have had 181 power play chances and scored 31 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 17%. That is 26th in the league. The Sabres have given up 180 power play opportunities and surrendered 37 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 79%, ranking them 20th when short-handed. They average 31 shots per contest and as a team shoot 7.74% for the year. They allow 32 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 90%, which is 28th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Red Wings are 25th in the league with a total of 57 points this season. They have 32 power play goals on 172 chances for a percentage of 19%. That is 22nd in the NHL. They've given up 187 power play opportunities and surrendered 41 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 78%, ranking 23rd overall. As a team, the Red Wings are 28th with a total of 157 goals scored while they've given up 177 goals this season, ranking 15th in goals against. They average 30 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 91%, putting them 22nd overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Buffalo has a Corsi percentage of 48.3% as they've tried 3,254 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 3,479 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 24th in Corsi percentage. They are 22nd in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 48.4% as they have 2,499 shots while they've given up 2,663 attempts on defense. The Sabres start possessions in the offensive zone 52.5% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 47.5% for the year. That puts them 5th and 21st in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 1,849 face-off wins as opposed to 1,759 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.2%. That is 10th overall in the NHL. On defense Buffalo has 1,345 hits and they've blocked 816 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 27th in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Red Wings start possessions in the offensive zone 50.3% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 49.7% for the year. That ranks them 16th and 12th respectively in the NHL. They have 1,738 face-off wins as opposed to 1,871 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48.2%. That is 26th in the league. On defense Detroit has 1,214 hits and they've blocked 817 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 26th in blocked shots. Detroit is ranked 20th in Corsi percentage with 48.5% as they've tried 3,205 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 3,400 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 18th in the NHL at 49%, as they have 2,486 shots while they've given up 2,583 attempts on defense.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Buffalo +125

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