Buffalo Sabres at Ottawa Senators NHL Picks & Predictions 3/8/2018

Thursday, March 8, 2018

Canadian Tire Centre

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Buffalo Sabres travel to Canadian Tire Centre to play the Ottawa Senators on Thursday, March 8, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Sabres at +131 and the Senators at -145.

Buffalo has a record of 21-34-11 this season and on the road they have a record of 11-16-7-0. They are 8th in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 159 goals and given up 214 goals for a point differential of -55. For the season they have an ATS record of 21-45-0 and an over/under record of 29-33-0. Ottawa is 23-32-10 including 14-13-5-3 at home this season. They are 7th in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 177 goals and surrendered 227 for a goal differential of -50. Their record against the spread is 23-42-0 while their over/under record is 34-31-0.

Valuable Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres are 21-45-0 straight up this year

The Buffalo Sabres are 29-33-0 against the over/under this season

Important Ottawa Senators Betting Trends

The Ottawa Senators are 23-42-0 straight up this year

The Ottawa Senators are 34-31-0 against the over/under this season

Key Buffalo Sabres Injuries

03/05/18 LW Evan Rodrigues Upper Body is "?" Wednesday vs Calgary
03/05/18 C Kyle Criscuolo Shoulder left last game, is "?" Wednesday vs Calgary
02/11/18 C Jack Eichel Ankle IR (02/09)
02/08/18 D Jake McCabe Shoulder IR (02/06)
01/27/18 D Zach Bogosian Hip IR (01/09)

Key Ottawa Senators Injuries

11/17/17 D Chris Wideman Hamstring IR (11/16)
03/05/18 LW Tom Pyatt Illness is "?" Thursday vs Buffalo

Player Spotlight

Ryan O'Reilly has accumulated 49 total points this season for the Sabres. He has 19 goals this year with 177 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 11%. He has a total of 30 assists on the season and averages 20.7 minutes played per game. Kyle Okposo averages 17.3 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 8% by scoring 11 goals on 133 shots. He has 27 assists, giving him a total of 38 points on the season. Robin Lehner has 13 wins and 24 losses this season in net for the Sabres. He has 1,397 shots against him and he's given up 127 goals. He's made 1,270 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Mike Hoffman has scored 44 total points this year for the Senators. He has 19 goals this season with 210 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 9%. He has a total of 25 assists on the season and averages 18.2 minutes played per game. Erik Karlsson averages 26.5 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 4% by scoring 7 goals on 159 shots. He has 42 assists, giving him a total of 49 points on the season. Craig Anderson has 19 wins and 20 losses this year in goal for the Senators. He has 1,464 shots against him and he's surrendered 145 goals. He's made 1,319 saves for a save percentage of 90%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sabres have 53 total points this season, which ranks them 30th in the NHL. They are 30th in the league in goals scored with 159 while they've given up 214 goals, ranking them 5th overall. They have had 200 power play opportunities and have scored 35 goals on those chances for a percentage of 18%. That is 25th in the NHL. The Sabres have allowed 194 power play opportunities and have given up 41 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 79%, putting them 21st in the league when short-handed. They average 31 shots per game and as a team shoot 7.90% for the season. They allow 32 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 90%. That puts them 25th in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Senators are 29th in the NHL with a total of 56 points this year. They have 34 power play goals on 203 opportunities for a percentage of 17%. That ranks them 26th in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 189 power play opportunities and have given up 46 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 76%. That is 28th in the NHL. As a team, the Senators are 27th in the league with 177 goals scored while they've given up 227 goals, which is 2nd overall. They average 31 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 8.93%. As a team they give up 33 shots per game and have a save percentage of 90%. That is 29th in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Buffalo is 23rd in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 48.1%, as they've attempted 3,558 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 3,844 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 48.2% as they have 2,736 attempts while they have given up 2,938 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 23rd in the league. The Sabres start possessions in the offensive zone 51.9% of the time, which is 7th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 48.1% for the season. That is 20th overall in the NHL. They have 2,036 face-off wins compared to 1,937 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.2%. That ranks them 9th in the league. On defense Buffalo has 1,447 hits and they have blocked 906 shots from the opposition, putting them 27th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Senators start possessions in the offensive zone 50.3% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 49.7% for the year. That ranks them 17th and 12th respectively in the NHL. They have 2,014 face-off wins as opposed to 1,939 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.9%. That is 11th in the league. On defense Ottawa has 1,554 hits and they've blocked 1,089 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 3rd in blocked shots. Ottawa is ranked 24th in Corsi percentage with 47.7% as they've tried 3,715 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 4,066 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 26th in the NHL at 48.1%, as they have 2,760 shots while they've given up 2,977 attempts on defense.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Ottawa -145

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