Buffalo Sabres at Florida Panthers NHL Picks & Predictions 3/2/2018

Friday, March 2, 2018

BB&T Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Buffalo Sabres head to BB&T Center to take on the Florida Panthers on Friday, March 2, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Sabres at +197 and the Panthers at -220.

Buffalo has a record of 20-33-11 this year and away from home they have a record of 11-15-7-0. They are 8th in the Atlantic Division. They have tallied 153 goals and surrendered 207 goals for a point differential of -54. For the year they have an ATS mark of 20-44-0 and an over/under record of 28-32-0. Florida has a record of 29-25-6 including 16-9-3-2 on home ice this year. They are 4th in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 178 goals and have given up 195 for a goal differential of -17. Their record against the spread is 29-31-0 while their over/under mark is 32-28-0.

Valuable Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres are 20-44-0 straight up this year

The Buffalo Sabres are 28-32-0 against the over/under this season

Important Florida Panthers Betting Trends

The Florida Panthers are 29-31-0 straight up this year

The Florida Panthers are 32-28-0 against the over/under this season

Key Buffalo Sabres Injuries

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 Florida Panthers Injuries

02/26/18 C Denis Malgin Lower Body is out indefinitely
02/17/18 C Frank Vatrano Lower Body IR (02/06)

Player Spotlight

Ryan O'Reilly has scored 46 total points this year for the Sabres. He has 18 goals this season with 172 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 11%. He has a total of 28 assists on the year and averages 20.7 minutes played per contest. Kyle Okposo averages 17.4 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 8% by tallying 11 goals on 133 attempts. He has 26 assists, giving him a total of 37 points on the year. Robin Lehner has 13 wins and 23 losses this season in goal for the Sabres. He has 1,367 shots against him and he's surrendered 123 goals. He's made 1,244 stops for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Vincent Trocheck has 57 total points this season for the Panthers. He has 24 goals this year with 217 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 11%. He has a total of 33 assists on the year and averages 21.6 minutes played per contest. Jonathan Huberdeau averages 19.6 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 13% by scoring 19 goals on 149 attempts. He has 38 assists, giving him a total of 57 points on the year. Roberto Luongo has 10 wins and 7 losses this season in net for the Panthers. He has 687 shots against him and he's given up 50 goals. He's made 637 saves for a save percentage of 93%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sabres have 51 total points this year, which is 30th in the NHL. They've scored 153 goals while giving up 207 scores, which has them ranked 30th and 5th respectively. They have had 195 power play chances and scored 34 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 17%. That is 25th in the league. The Sabres have given up 189 power play opportunities and surrendered 39 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 7.79% for the year. They allow 32 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 90%, which is 25th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Panthers are 22nd in the league with a total of 64 points this season. They have 37 power play goals on 189 chances for a percentage of 20%. That is 19th in the NHL. They've given up 181 power play opportunities and surrendered 38 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 79%, ranking 22nd overall. As a team, the Panthers are 21st with a total of 178 goals scored while they've given up 195 goals this season, ranking 8th in goals against. They average 34 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 8.61%. As a unit they give up 35 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 91%, putting them 19th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Buffalo is 23rd in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 48.2%, as they've attempted 3,473 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 3,738 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 48.4% as they have 2,668 attempts while they have given up 2,849 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 22nd in the league. The Sabres start possessions in the offensive zone 52.2% of the time, which is 9th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 47.8% for the season. That is 19th overall in the NHL. They have 1,968 face-off wins compared to 1,878 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.2%. That ranks them 9th in the league. On defense Buffalo has 1,413 hits and they have blocked 889 shots from the opposition, putting them 23rd overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Panthers are 28th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 48.1% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 51.9% for the season, which is 5th in the NHL. They have 1,950 face-off wins compared to 1,876 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51%. That is 10th in the league. On defense Florida has 1,183 hits and they have blocked 835 shots from the opposition, which is 29th in the league. Florida is 15th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 49.7% as they've attempted 3,591 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 3,637 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 50% ranks 16th as they have 2,798 attempts while they have given up 2,802 shots on the defensive end.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Buffalo +197

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here

Read more articles by Guy Bruhn