Buffalo Sabres at Minnesota Wild NHL Picks & Predictions 11/17/2018

Saturday, November 17, 2018

Xcel Energy Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Buffalo Sabres head to Xcel Energy Center to take on the Minnesota Wild on Saturday, November 17, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Sabres at +155 and the Wild at -190.

Buffalo has a record of 10-6-2 this year. They are 5th in the Atlantic Division. They've tallied 55 goals and surrendered 53 goals for a point differential of +2. For the year they have an ATS mark of 10-8-0 and an over/under record of 10-7-0. Minnesota has a record of 12-5-2 this season. They are 2nd in the Central Division. They have scored 62 goals and given up 51 for a goal differential of +11. Their record against the spread is 12-7-0 while their over/under mark is 10-8-0.

Valuable Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres are 10-8-0 straight up this year

The Buffalo Sabres are 10-7-0 against the over/under this season

Important Minnesota Wild Betting Trends

The Minnesota Wild are 12-7-0 straight up this year

The Minnesota Wild are 10-8-0 against the over/under this season

Key Buffalo Sabres Injuries

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 Minnesota Wild Injuries

11/16/18 LW Zach Parise Illness is questionable Saturday vs Buffalo
10/18/18 C Joel Eriksson Ek Upper Body IR (10/11)
10/04/18 C Luke Kunin Knee is out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Jack Eichel has scored 19 total points this year for the Sabres. He has 4 goals this season with 69 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 6%. He has a total of 15 assists on the year and averages 19.8 minutes played per contest. Jeff Skinner averages 17.6 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 22% by tallying 13 goals on 60 attempts. He has 7 assists, giving him a total of 20 points on the year. Carter Hutton has 7 wins and 6 losses this season in goal for the Sabres. He has 416 shots against him and he's surrendered 35 goals. He's made 381 stops for a save percentage of 92%.

Player Spotlight

Jason Zucker has 14 total points this season for the Wild. He has 6 goals this year with 62 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 10%. He has a total of 8 assists on the year and averages 17.2 minutes played per contest. Zach Parise averages 18.6 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 13% by scoring 7 goals on 53 attempts. He has 9 assists, giving him a total of 16 points on the year. Devan Dubnyk has 9 wins and 4 losses this season in net for the Wild. He has 476 shots against him and he's given up 35 goals. He's made 441 saves for a save percentage of 93%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sabres have 22 total points this year, which is 10th in the NHL. They've scored 55 goals while giving up 53 scores, which has them ranked 18th and 21st respectively. They have had 62 power play chances and scored 11 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 18%. That is 21st in the league. The Sabres have given up 55 power play opportunities and surrendered 10 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 82%, ranking them 10th when short-handed. They average 32 shots per contest and as a team shoot 9.48% for the year. They allow 32 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is 12th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Wild are 4th in the league with a total of 26 points this season. They have 13 power play goals on 63 chances for a percentage of 21%. That is 14th in the NHL. They've given up 69 power play opportunities and surrendered 10 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 86%, ranking 4th overall. As a team, the Wild are 10th with a total of 62 goals scored while they've given up 51 goals this season, ranking 24th in goals against. They average 31 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 10.63%. As a unit they give up 31 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 92%, putting them 8th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Buffalo is 18th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 49.6%, as they've attempted 1,015 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,030 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 50.3% as they have 793 attempts while they have given up 783 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 14th in the league. The Sabres start possessions in the offensive zone 49.8% of the time, which is 18th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 50.2% for the season. That is 14th overall in the NHL. They have 542 face-off wins compared to 560 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49.2%. That ranks them 20th in the league. On defense Buffalo has 323 hits and they have blocked 247 shots from the opposition, putting them 25th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Wild are 21st in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 48.9% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 51.1% for the season, which is 11th in the NHL. They have 616 face-off wins compared to 576 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.7%. That is 8th in the league. On defense Minnesota has 370 hits and they have blocked 288 shots from the opposition, which is 6th in the league. Minnesota is 22nd in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 48.2% as they've attempted 1,050 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,129 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 48.5% ranks 23rd as they have 793 attempts while they have given up 841 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Buffalo +155

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