Buffalo Sabres at Los Angeles Kings NHL Picks & Predictions 10/20/2018

Saturday, October 20, 2018

Staples Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Buffalo Sabres head to Staples Center to take on the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, October 20, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Sabres at +175 and the Kings at -220.

Buffalo has a record of 3-4-0 this year. They are 6th in the Atlantic Division. They've tallied 13 goals and surrendered 22 goals for a point differential of -9. For the year they have an ATS mark of 3-4-0 and an over/under record of 3-4-0. Los Angeles has a record of 2-4-1 this season. They are 7th in the Pacific Division. They have scored 14 goals and given up 23 for a goal differential of -9. Their record against the spread is 2-5-0 while their over/under mark is 2-4-0.

Valuable Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres are 3-4-0 straight up this year

The Buffalo Sabres are 3-4-0 against the over/under this season

Important Los Angeles Kings Betting Trends

The Los Angeles Kings are 2-5-0 straight up this year

The Los Angeles Kings are 2-4-0 against the over/under this season

Key Buffalo Sabres Injuries

10/18/18 C Patrik Berglund Undisclosed is downgraded to out Thursday vs San Jose
10/04/18 C Scott Wilson Leg is out indefinitely
10/04/18 C Sean Malone Knee is out indefinitely
10/03/18 C Johan Larsson Foot IR (10/03)

Key Los Angeles Kings Injuries

10/19/18 C Anze Kopitar Illness is questionable Saturday vs Buffalo
10/03/18 RW Dustin Brown Finger IR (10/03)
10/03/18 RW Jonny Brodzinski Shoulder IR (10/03)

Player Spotlight

Jack Eichel has scored 5 total points this year for the Sabres. He has 3 goals this season with 28 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 11%. He has a total of 2 assists on the year and averages 21 minutes played per contest. Conor Sheary averages 17.1 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 20% by tallying 3 goals on 15 attempts. He has 1 assist, giving him a total of 4 points on the year. Carter Hutton has 2 wins and 4 losses this season in goal for the Sabres. He has 202 shots against him and he's surrendered 19 goals. He's made 183 stops for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Ilya Kovalchuk has 5 total points this season for the Kings. He has 2 goals this year with 24 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 8%. He has a total of 3 assists on the year and averages 19.4 minutes played per contest. Alex Iafallo averages 15.1 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 20% by scoring 2 goals on 10 attempts. He has 4 assists, giving him a total of 6 points on the year. Jack Campbell has 2 wins and 3 losses this season in net for the Kings. He has 156 shots against him and he's given up 13 goals. He's made 143 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sabres have 6 total points this year, which is 19th in the NHL. They've scored 13 goals while giving up 22 scores, which has them ranked 28th and 10th respectively. They have had 29 power play chances and scored 4 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 14%. That is 24th in the league. The Sabres have given up 23 power play opportunities and surrendered 7 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 70%, ranking them 27th when short-handed. They average 26 shots per contest and as a team shoot 7.07% for the year. They allow 34 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is 10th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Kings are 27th in the league with a total of 5 points this season. They have 2 power play goals on 25 chances for a percentage of 8%. That is 29th in the NHL. They've given up 20 power play opportunities and surrendered 6 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 70%, ranking 26th overall. As a team, the Kings are 27th with a total of 14 goals scored while they've given up 23 goals this season, ranking 7th in goals against. They average 28 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 7.07%. As a unit they give up 33 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 90%, putting them 16th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Buffalo is 27th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 46.1%, as they've attempted 365 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 427 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 45.9% as they have 276 attempts while they have given up 325 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 27th in the league. The Sabres start possessions in the offensive zone 46.7% of the time, which is 24th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 53.3% for the season. That is 7th overall in the NHL. They have 211 face-off wins compared to 221 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48.8%. That ranks them 24th in the league. On defense Buffalo has 153 hits and they have blocked 102 shots from the opposition, putting them 9th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Kings are 26th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 46.4% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 53.6% for the season, which is 6th in the NHL. They have 218 face-off wins compared to 210 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.9%. That is 13th in the league. On defense Los Angeles has 166 hits and they have blocked 113 shots from the opposition, which is 6th in the league. Los Angeles is 21st in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 48.3% as they've attempted 398 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 426 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 47.3% ranks 25th as they have 281 attempts while they have given up 313 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Buffalo +175

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