Buffalo Sabres at New York Rangers NHL Picks & Predictions 3/24/2018

Saturday, March 24, 2018

Madison Square Garden

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Buffalo Sabres head to Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Rangers on Saturday, March 24, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Sabres at +155 and the Rangers at -200.

Buffalo has a record of 23-38-12 this year and away from home they have a record of 12-16-7-0. They are 8th in the Atlantic Division. They have tallied 173 goals and surrendered 240 goals for a point differential of -67. For the year they have an ATS mark of 23-50-0 and an over/under record of 33-36-0. New York has a record of 32-34-8 including 20-14-4-2 on home ice this year. They are 7th in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 214 goals and have given up 240 for a goal differential of -26. Their record against the spread is 32-42-0 while their over/under mark is 41-31-0.

Valuable Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres are 23-50-0 straight up this year

The Buffalo Sabres are 33-36-0 against the over/under this season

Important New York Rangers Betting Trends

The New York Rangers are 32-42-0 straight up this year

The New York Rangers are 41-31-0 against the over/under this season

Key Buffalo Sabres Injuries

03/23/18 GO Robin Lehner Undisclosed is upgraded to available Friday vs Montreal
03/23/18 C Zemgus Girgensons Undisclosed is upgraded to probable Friday vs Montreal
03/17/18 C Jacob Josefson Lower Body is out indefinitely
03/08/18 C Kyle Criscuolo Shoulder is OUT 4-6 weeks
02/08/18 D Jake McCabe Shoulder IR (02/06)
01/27/18 D Zach Bogosian Hip IR (01/09)

Key New York Rangers Injuries

03/22/18 GO Henrik Lundqvist Back is "?" Saturday vs Buffalo
03/13/18 D Tony DeAngelo Ankle is out indefinitely
02/15/18 D Steven Kampfer Hand IR (02/11)
02/10/18 GO Ondrej Pavelec Knee IR (02/08)
01/19/18 D Kevin Shattenkirk Knee IR (01/18)

Player Spotlight

Sam Reinhart has scored 42 total points this year for the Sabres. He has 19 goals this season with 163 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 12%. He has a total of 23 assists on the year and averages 17 minutes played per contest. Ryan O'Reilly averages 20.9 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 10% by tallying 20 goals on 197 attempts. He has 32 assists, giving him a total of 52 points on the year. Robin Lehner has 14 wins and 25 losses this season in goal for the Sabres. He has 1,528 shots against him and he's surrendered 136 goals. He's made 1,392 stops for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Mats Zuccarello has 49 total points this season for the Rangers. He has 15 goals this year with 164 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 9%. He has a total of 34 assists on the year and averages 18.9 minutes played per contest. Pavel Buchnevich averages 15 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 11% by scoring 14 goals on 125 attempts. He has 28 assists, giving him a total of 42 points on the year. Henrik Lundqvist has 25 wins and 24 losses this season in net for the Rangers. He has 1,878 shots against him and he's given up 160 goals. He's made 1,718 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sabres have 58 total points this year, which is 31st in the NHL. They've scored 173 goals while giving up 240 scores, which has them ranked 31st and 4th respectively. They have had 223 power play chances and scored 38 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 17%. That is 26th in the league. The Sabres have given up 210 power play opportunities and surrendered 45 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 79%, ranking them 21st when short-handed. They average 31 shots per contest and as a team shoot 7.72% for the year. They allow 33 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 90%, which is 26th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Rangers are 23rd in the league with a total of 72 points this season. They have 47 power play goals on 217 chances for a percentage of 22%. That is 9th in the NHL. They've given up 223 power play opportunities and surrendered 38 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83%, ranking 6th overall. As a team, the Rangers are 19th with a total of 214 goals scored while they've given up 240 goals this season, ranking 5th in goals against. They average 31 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 9.22%. As a unit they give up 35 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 91%, putting them 16th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Buffalo is 23rd in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 48.3%, as they've attempted 3,982 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 4,258 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 48.3% as they have 3,064 attempts while they have given up 3,274 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 24th in the league. The Sabres start possessions in the offensive zone 51.8% of the time, which is 9th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 48.2% for the season. That is 20th overall in the NHL. They have 2,277 face-off wins compared to 2,113 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.9%. That ranks them 5th in the league. On defense Buffalo has 1,583 hits and they have blocked 984 shots from the opposition, putting them 29th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Rangers are 14th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 51.4% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 48.6% for the season, which is 18th in the NHL. They have 2,170 face-off wins compared to 2,196 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49.7%. That is 17th in the league. On defense New York has 1,558 hits and they have blocked 1,132 shots from the opposition, which is 9th in the league. New York is 29th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 47% as they've attempted 4,105 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 4,628 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 47.3% ranks 30th as they have 3,140 attempts while they have given up 3,496 shots on the defensive end.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Buffalo +155

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