Buffalo Sabres at New York Rangers NHL Picks & Predictions 1/18/2018

Thursday, January 18, 2018

Madison Square Garden

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Buffalo Sabres travel to Madison Square Garden to play the New York Rangers on Thursday, January 18, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Sabres at +166 and the Rangers at -185.

Buffalo has a record of 11-24-9 this season and on the road they have a record of 5-13-6-0. They are 8th in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 99 goals and given up 151 goals for a point differential of -52. For the season they have an ATS record of 11-33-0 and an over/under record of 18-23-0. New York is 23-17-5 including 16-8-3-2 at home this season. They are 4th in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 137 goals and surrendered 130 for a goal differential of +7. Their record against the spread is 23-22-0 while their over/under record is 24-19-0.

Valuable Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres are 11-33-0 straight up this year

The Buffalo Sabres are 18-23-0 against the over/under this season

Important New York Rangers Betting Trends

The New York Rangers are 23-22-0 straight up this year

The New York Rangers are 24-19-0 against the over/under this season

Key Buffalo Sabres Injuries

01/10/18 C Jacob Josefson Lower Body IR (01/09)
01/10/18 D Zach Bogosian Lower Body is out indefinitely
01/09/18 D Victor Antipin Illness IR (01/08)

Key New York Rangers Injuries

12/28/17 LW Chris Kreider Blood Clot is out indefinitely
01/16/18 RW Kevin Hayes Soreness is "?" Thursday vs Buffalo
01/16/18 D Marc Staal Lower Body left last game, is "?" Thursday vs Buffalo

Player Spotlight

Evander Kane has accumulated 36 total points this season for the Sabres. He has 16 goals this year with 176 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 9%. He has a total of 20 assists on the season and averages 19.8 minutes played per game. Jack Eichel averages 20.4 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 12% by scoring 18 goals on 151 shots. He has 23 assists, giving him a total of 41 points on the season. Robin Lehner has 9 wins and 16 losses this season in net for the Sabres. He has 964 shots against him and he's given up 87 goals. He's made 877 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Mats Zuccarello has scored 32 total points this year for the Rangers. He has 8 goals this season with 91 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 9%. He has a total of 24 assists on the season and averages 18.9 minutes played per game. Kevin Shattenkirk averages 20.3 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 5% by scoring 5 goals on 94 shots. He has 18 assists, giving him a total of 23 points on the season. Henrik Lundqvist has 20 wins and 11 losses this year in goal for the Rangers. He has 1,207 shots against him and he's surrendered 92 goals. He's made 1,115 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sabres have 31 total points this season, which ranks them 30th in the NHL. They are 31st in the league in goals scored with 99 while they've given up 151 goals, ranking them 3rd overall. They have had 132 power play opportunities and have scored 17 goals on those chances for a percentage of 13%. That is 31st in the NHL. The Sabres have allowed 134 power play opportunities and have given up 29 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 78%, putting them 25th in the league when short-handed. They average 31 shots per game and as a team shoot 7.27% for the season. They allow 33 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 90%. That puts them 26th in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Rangers are 17th in the NHL with a total of 51 points this year. They have 27 power play goals on 141 opportunities for a percentage of 19%. That ranks them 17th in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 143 power play opportunities and have given up 22 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 85%. That is 2nd in the NHL. As a team, the Rangers are 11th in the league with 137 goals scored while they've given up 130 goals, which is 15th overall. They average 31 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 9.70%. As a team they give up 34 shots per game and have a save percentage of 92%. That is 5th in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Buffalo has a Corsi percentage of 48.1% as they've tried 2,382 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 2,569 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 23rd in Corsi percentage. They are 23rd in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 48.2% as they have 1,824 shots while they've given up 1,964 attempts on defense. The Sabres start possessions in the offensive zone 52.4% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 47.6% for the year. That puts them 9th and 20th in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 1,361 face-off wins as opposed to 1,299 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.2%. That is 10th overall in the NHL. On defense Buffalo has 1,021 hits and they've blocked 605 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 26th in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Rangers start possessions in the offensive zone 51.3% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 48.7% for the year. That ranks them 15th and 17th respectively in the NHL. They have 1,338 face-off wins as opposed to 1,319 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.4%. That is 19th in the league. On defense New York has 946 hits and they've blocked 685 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 10th in blocked shots. New York is ranked 27th in Corsi percentage with 47.7% as they've tried 2,505 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 2,746 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 25th in the NHL at 48.1%, as they have 1,913 shots while they've given up 2,061 attempts on defense.

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

Guy's Pick: Take New York -185

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