Buffalo Sabres at Philadelphia Flyers NHL Picks & Predictions 1/7/2018

Sunday, January 7, 2018

Wells Fargo Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Buffalo Sabres head to Wells Fargo Center to take on the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday, January 7, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Sabres at +113 and the Flyers at -125.

Buffalo has a record of 10-22-9 this year and away from home they have a record of 5-12-6-0. They are 8th in the Atlantic Division. They have tallied 91 goals and surrendered 139 goals for a point differential of -48. For the year they have an ATS mark of 10-31-0 and an over/under record of 17-21-0. Philadelphia has a record of 17-15-8 including 9-8-4-1 on home ice this year. They are 8th in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 113 goals and have given up 118 for a goal differential of -5. Their record against the spread is 17-23-0 while their over/under mark is 21-17-0.

Valuable Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres are 10-31-0 straight up this year

The Buffalo Sabres are 17-21-0 against the over/under this season

Important Philadelphia Flyers Betting Trends

The Philadelphia Flyers are 17-23-0 straight up this year

The Philadelphia Flyers are 21-17-0 against the over/under this season

Key Buffalo Sabres Injuries

11/17/17 D Taylor Fedun Lower Body IR (11/15)
01/05/18 D Victor Antipin Illness is "?" Sunday vs Philadelphia

Key Philadelphia Flyers Injuries

10/15/17 GO Anthony Stolarz Knee IR (10/03)

Player Spotlight

Jack Eichel has scored 35 total points this year for the Sabres. He has 15 goals this season with 138 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 11%. He has a total of 20 assists on the year and averages 20.4 minutes played per contest. Evander Kane averages 19.8 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 10% by tallying 16 goals on 168 attempts. He has 19 assists, giving him a total of 35 points on the year. Robin Lehner has 9 wins and 15 losses this season in goal for the Sabres. He has 920 shots against him and he's surrendered 82 goals. He's made 838 stops for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Claude Giroux has 48 total points this season for the Flyers. He has 13 goals this year with 80 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 16%. He has a total of 35 assists on the year and averages 20.5 minutes played per contest. Jakub Voracek averages 19.6 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 6% by scoring 8 goals on 133 attempts. He has 40 assists, giving him a total of 48 points on the year. Brian Elliott has 15 wins and 10 losses this season in net for the Flyers. He has 976 shots against him and he's given up 88 goals. He's made 888 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sabres have 29 total points this year, which is 30th in the NHL. They've scored 91 goals while giving up 139 scores, which has them ranked 31st and 3rd respectively. They have had 126 power play chances and scored 15 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 12%. That is 30th in the league. The Sabres have given up 126 power play opportunities and surrendered 25 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%, ranking them 22nd when short-handed. They average 31 shots per contest and as a team shoot 7.18% for the year. They allow 32 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 90%, which is 28th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Flyers are 23rd in the league with a total of 42 points this season. They have 29 power play goals on 142 chances for a percentage of 20%. That is 13th in the NHL. They've given up 124 power play opportunities and surrendered 31 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 75%, ranking 29th overall. As a team, the Flyers are 22nd with a total of 113 goals scored while they've given up 118 goals this season, ranking 15th in goals against. They average 32 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 8.82%. As a unit they give up 31 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 91%, putting them 22nd overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Buffalo is 24th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 48.3%, as they've attempted 2,233 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,389 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 48.4% as they have 1,705 attempts while they have given up 1,816 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 22nd in the league. The Sabres start possessions in the offensive zone 52.2% of the time, which is 9th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 47.8% for the season. That is 21st overall in the NHL. They have 1,261 face-off wins compared to 1,202 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.2%. That ranks them 9th in the league. On defense Buffalo has 966 hits and they have blocked 573 shots from the opposition, putting them 23rd overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Flyers are 15th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 50.9% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 49.1% for the season, which is 17th in the NHL. They have 1,283 face-off wins compared to 1,150 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 52.7%. That is 2nd in the league. On defense Philadelphia has 821 hits and they have blocked 602 shots from the opposition, which is 19th in the league. Philadelphia is 15th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50.3% as they've attempted 2,330 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,302 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 50.6% ranks 13th as they have 1,738 attempts while they have given up 1,700 shots on the defensive end.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Buffalo +113

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