Buffalo Sabres at Florida Panthers NHL Picks & Predictions 4/7/2018

Saturday, April 7, 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 Saturday, April 7, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Sabres at +116 and the Panthers at -128.

Buffalo has a record of 25-43-12 this year and away from home they have a record of 14-18-7-0. They are 8th in the Atlantic Division. They have tallied 191 goals and surrendered 269 goals for a point differential of -78. For the year they have an ATS mark of 25-55-0 and an over/under record of 37-38-0. Florida has a record of 42-30-8 including 26-11-3-2 on home ice this year. They are 4th in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 240 goals and have given up 241 for a goal differential of -1. Their record against the spread is 42-38-0 while their over/under mark is 38-40-0.

Valuable Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres are 25-55-0 straight up this year

The Buffalo Sabres are 37-38-0 against the over/under this season

Important Florida Panthers Betting Trends

The Florida Panthers are 42-38-0 straight up this year

The Florida Panthers are 38-40-0 against the over/under this season

Key Buffalo Sabres Injuries

04/05/18 GO Robin Lehner Lower Body is out for season
04/05/18 C Zemgus Girgensons Upper Body is out for season
04/05/18 GO Linus Ullmark Concussion is doubtful Friday vs Tampa Bay
04/01/18 D Victor Antipin Concussion is out indefinitely
03/17/18 C Jacob Josefson Lower Body is out indefinitely
03/08/18 C Kyle Criscuolo Shoulder is out for season
02/08/18 D Jake McCabe Shoulder IR (02/06)
01/27/18 D Zach Bogosian Hip IR (01/09)

Key Florida Panthers Injuries

04/05/18 C Aleksander Barkov Lower Body left last game, is "?" Saturday vs Buffalo

Player Spotlight

Ryan O'Reilly has scored 59 total points this year for the Sabres. He has 23 goals this season with 224 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 10%. He has a total of 36 assists on the year and averages 20.8 minutes played per contest. Sam Reinhart averages 17.1 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 13% by tallying 24 goals on 183 attempts. He has 25 assists, giving him a total of 49 points on the year. Chad Johnson has 10 wins and 15 losses this season in goal for the Sabres. He has 917 shots against him and he's surrendered 96 goals. He's made 821 stops for a save percentage of 90%.

Player Spotlight

Vincent Trocheck has 73 total points this season for the Panthers. He has 30 goals this year with 281 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 11%. He has a total of 43 assists on the year and averages 21.3 minutes played per contest. Jonathan Huberdeau averages 19.2 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 13% by scoring 26 goals on 199 attempts. He has 42 assists, giving him a total of 68 points on the year. Roberto Luongo has 18 wins and 11 losses this season in net for the Panthers. He has 1,135 shots against him and he's given up 81 goals. He's made 1,054 saves for a save percentage of 93%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sabres have 62 total points this year, which is 31st in the NHL. They've scored 191 goals while giving up 269 scores, which has them ranked 31st and 3rd respectively. They have had 249 power play chances and scored 46 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 18%. That is 22nd in the league. The Sabres have given up 229 power play opportunities and surrendered 51 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 78%, ranking them 23rd when short-handed. They average 31 shots per contest and as a team shoot 7.69% for the year. They allow 33 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 90%, which is 29th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Panthers are 17th in the league with a total of 92 points this season. They have 46 power play goals on 243 chances for a percentage of 19%. That is 20th in the NHL. They've given up 220 power play opportunities and surrendered 43 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%, ranking 15th overall. As a team, the Panthers are 16th with a total of 240 goals scored while they've given up 241 goals this season, ranking 15th in goals against. They average 35 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 8.67%. As a unit they give up 34 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 91%, putting them 6th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Buffalo is 21st in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 48.5%, as they've attempted 4,368 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 4,643 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 48.6% as they have 3,383 attempts while they have given up 3,584 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 19th in the league. The Sabres start possessions in the offensive zone 52.3% of the time, which is 10th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 47.7% for the season. That is 20th overall in the NHL. They have 2,478 face-off wins compared to 2,325 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.6%. That ranks them 4th in the league. On defense Buffalo has 1,728 hits and they have blocked 1,059 shots from the opposition, putting them 30th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Panthers start possessions in the offensive zone 47.8% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 52.2% for the year. That ranks them 29th and 5th respectively in the NHL. They have 2,600 face-off wins as opposed to 2,510 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.9%. That is 10th in the league. On defense Florida has 1,632 hits and they've blocked 1,132 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 25th in blocked shots. Florida is ranked 15th in Corsi percentage with 50.2% as they've tried 4,848 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 4,817 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 12th in the NHL at 50.6%, as they have 3,779 shots while they've given up 3,685 attempts on defense.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Buffalo +116

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