Buffalo Sabres at Vancouver Canucks NHL Picks & Predictions 1/25/2018

Thursday, January 25, 2018

Rogers Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Buffalo Sabres head to Rogers Arena to take on the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday, January 25, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Sabres at +131 and the Canucks at -145.

Buffalo has a record of 13-26-9 this year and away from home they have a record of 7-14-6-0. They are 8th in the Atlantic Division. They have tallied 110 goals and surrendered 163 goals for a point differential of -53. For the year they have an ATS mark of 13-35-0 and an over/under record of 20-25-0. Vancouver has a record of 19-23-6 including 8-12-3-1 on home ice this year. They are 7th in the Pacific Division. They've scored 127 goals and have given up 155 for a goal differential of -28. Their record against the spread is 19-29-0 while their over/under mark is 27-21-0.

Valuable Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres are 13-35-0 straight up this year

The Buffalo Sabres are 20-25-0 against the over/under this season

Important Vancouver Canucks Betting Trends

The Vancouver Canucks are 19-29-0 straight up this year

The Vancouver Canucks are 27-21-0 against the over/under this season

Key Buffalo Sabres Injuries

01/23/18 D Josh Gorges Illness is "?" Thursday vs Vancouver
01/23/18 D Nathan Beaulieu Concussion IR (01/23)
01/10/18 C Jacob Josefson Lower Body IR (01/09)
01/10/18 D Zach Bogosian Lower Body IR (01/09)

Key Vancouver Canucks Injuries

01/23/18 D Erik Gudbranson Back is "?" Thursday vs Buffalo

Player Spotlight

Evander Kane has scored 36 total points this year for the Sabres. He has 16 goals this season with 188 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 9%. He has a total of 20 assists on the year and averages 19.5 minutes played per contest. Jack Eichel averages 20.3 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 12% by tallying 20 goals on 172 attempts. He has 29 assists, giving him a total of 49 points on the year. Robin Lehner has 10 wins and 18 losses this season in goal for the Sabres. He has 1,050 shots against him and he's surrendered 95 goals. He's made 955 stops for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Brock Boeser has 43 total points this season for the Canucks. He has 24 goals this year with 133 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 18%. He has a total of 19 assists on the year and averages 17 minutes played per contest. Thomas Vanek averages 14.1 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 15% by scoring 14 goals on 96 attempts. He has 21 assists, giving him a total of 35 points on the year. Jacob Markstrom has 13 wins and 15 losses this season in net for the Canucks. He has 1,017 shots against him and he's given up 93 goals. He's made 924 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sabres have 35 total points this year, which is 30th in the NHL. They've scored 110 goals while giving up 163 scores, which has them ranked 31st and 3rd respectively. They have had 147 power play chances and scored 23 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 16%. That is 26th in the league. The Sabres have given up 143 power play opportunities and surrendered 31 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 78%, ranking them 24th when short-handed. They average 31 shots per contest and as a team shoot 7.37% 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 Canucks are 28th in the league with a total of 44 points this season. They have 36 power play goals on 161 chances for a percentage of 22%. That is 6th in the NHL. They've given up 163 power play opportunities and surrendered 36 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 78%, ranking 26th overall. As a team, the Canucks are 26th with a total of 127 goals scored while they've given up 155 goals this season, ranking 5th in goals against. They average 30 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 8.84%. As a unit they give up 32 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 90%, putting them 25th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Buffalo is 22nd in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 48.2%, as they've attempted 2,615 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,810 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 48.3% as they have 2,004 attempts while they have given up 2,142 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 23rd in the league. The Sabres start possessions in the offensive zone 52.4% of the time, which is 8th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 47.6% for the season. That is 21st overall in the NHL. They have 1,476 face-off wins compared to 1,421 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.9%. That ranks them 10th in the league. On defense Buffalo has 1,100 hits and they have blocked 668 shots from the opposition, putting them 24th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Canucks start possessions in the offensive zone 50.7% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 49.3% for the year. That ranks them 17th and 20th respectively in the NHL. They have 1,440 face-off wins as opposed to 1,507 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48.9%. That is 23rd in the league. On defense Vancouver has 917 hits and they've blocked 643 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 27th in blocked shots. Vancouver is ranked 28th in Corsi percentage with 48.3% as they've tried 2,589 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 2,766 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 27th in the NHL at 47.7%, as they have 1,940 shots while they've given up 2,123 attempts on defense.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Buffalo +131

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