Buffalo Sabres at San Jose Sharks NHL Picks & Predictions 10/18/2018

Thursday, October 18, 2018

SAP Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Buffalo Sabres head to SAP Center to take on the San Jose Sharks on Thursday, October 18, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Sabres at +193 and the Sharks at -215.

Buffalo has a record of 3-3-0 this year. They are 6th in the Atlantic Division. They've tallied 12 goals and surrendered 17 goals for a point differential of -5. For the year they have an ATS mark of 3-2-0 and an over/under record of 2-3-0. San Jose has a record of 2-3-1 this season. They are 5th in the Pacific Division. They have scored 17 goals and given up 19 for a goal differential of -2. Their record against the spread is 2-4-0 while their over/under mark is 2-4-0.

Valuable Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres are 3-2-0 straight up this year

The Buffalo Sabres are 2-3-0 against the over/under this season

Important San Jose Sharks Betting Trends

The San Jose Sharks are 2-4-0 straight up this year

The San Jose Sharks are 2-4-0 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 San Jose Sharks Injuries

10/07/18 C Joe Thornton Knee is out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Jack Eichel has scored 5 total points this year for the Sabres. He has 3 goals this season with 24 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 13%. He has a total of 2 assists on the year and averages 21.3 minutes played per contest. Conor Sheary averages 17.3 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 27% by tallying 3 goals on 11 attempts. He has 1 assist, giving him a total of 4 points on the year. Carter Hutton has 2 wins and 3 losses this season in goal for the Sabres. He has 164 shots against him and he's surrendered 15 goals. He's made 149 stops for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Joe Pavelski has 3 total points this season for the Sharks. He has 3 goals this year with 17 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 18%. He averages 17.3 minutes played per contest. Evander Kane averages 17.7 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 15% by scoring 4 goals on 26 attempts. He has 1 assist, giving him a total of 5 points on the year. Martin Jones has 1 win and 3 losses this season in net for the Sharks. He has 100 shots against him and he's given up 12 goals. He's made 88 saves for a save percentage of 88%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sabres have 6 total points this year, which is 14th in the NHL. They've scored 12 goals while giving up 17 scores, which has them ranked 27th and 17th respectively. They have had 24 power play chances and scored 4 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 17%. That is 20th in the league. The Sabres have given up 16 power play opportunities and surrendered 4 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 75%, ranking them 22nd when short-handed. They average 27 shots per contest and as a team shoot 7.55% for the year. They allow 34 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 92%, which is 11th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sharks are 23rd in the league with a total of 5 points this season. They have 2 power play goals on 21 chances for a percentage of 10%. That is 27th in the NHL. They've given up 28 power play opportunities and surrendered 6 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 79%, ranking 15th overall. As a team, the Sharks are 17th with a total of 17 goals scored while they've given up 19 goals this season, ranking 14th in goals against. They average 39 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 7.36%. As a unit they give up 27 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 88%, putting them 22nd overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Buffalo is 23rd in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 47.2%, as they've attempted 310 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 347 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 47% as they have 238 attempts while they have given up 268 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 23rd in the league. The Sabres start possessions in the offensive zone 46.3% of the time, which is 24th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 53.7% for the season. That is 8th overall in the NHL. They have 180 face-off wins compared to 193 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48.3%. That ranks them 24th in the league. On defense Buffalo has 129 hits and they have blocked 79 shots from the opposition, putting them 14th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Sharks are 3rd in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 59.9% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 40.1% for the season, which is 29th in the NHL. They have 169 face-off wins compared to 183 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48%. That is 26th in the league. On defense San Jose has 91 hits and they have blocked 71 shots from the opposition, which is 19th in the league. San Jose is 4th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 58.3% as they've attempted 424 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 303 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 58.9% ranks 2nd as they have 333 attempts while they have given up 232 shots on the defensive end.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Buffalo +193

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