Columbus Blue Jackets at Buffalo Sabres NHL Picks & Predictions 1/11/2018

Thursday, January 11, 2018

KeyBank Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Columbus Blue Jackets head to KeyBank Center to take on the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, January 11, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Blue Jackets at -150 and the Sabres at +136.

Columbus has a record of 25-16-3 this year and away from home they have a record of 10-9-3-3. They are 2nd in the Metropolitan Division. They have tallied 121 goals and surrendered 121 goals for a point differential of 0. For the year they have an ATS mark of 25-19-0 and an over/under record of 19-24-0. Buffalo has a record of 10-24-9 including 5-11-3-1 on home ice this year. They are 8th in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 96 goals and have given up 150 for a goal differential of -54. Their record against the spread is 10-33-0 while their over/under mark is 18-22-0.

Valuable Columbus Blue Jackets Betting Trends

The Columbus Blue Jackets are 25-19-0 straight up this year

The Columbus Blue Jackets are 19-24-0 against the over/under this season

Important Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres are 10-33-0 straight up this year

The Buffalo Sabres are 18-22-0 against the over/under this season

Key Columbus Blue Jackets Injuries

12/25/17 C Alexander Wennberg Back IR (12/21)
12/25/17 RW Cam Atkinson Foot IR (12/23)
12/13/17 C Brandon Dubinsky Facial IR (12/12)
12/01/17 D Ryan Murray Upper Body IR (11/27)

Key Buffalo Sabres Injuries

11/17/17 D Taylor Fedun Lower Body IR (11/15)
01/09/18 C Jacob Josefson Undisclosed left last game, is "?" Thursday vs Columbus
01/09/18 D Victor Antipin Illness IR (01/08)

Player Spotlight

Artemi Panarin has scored 36 total points this year for the Blue Jackets. He has 11 goals this season with 127 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 9%. He has a total of 25 assists on the year and averages 20.4 minutes played per contest. Josh Anderson averages 18.5 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 10% by tallying 14 goals on 136 attempts. He has 10 assists, giving him a total of 24 points on the year. Sergei Bobrovsky has 21 wins and 12 losses this season in goal for the Blue Jackets. He has 1,111 shots against him and he's surrendered 87 goals. He's made 1,024 stops for a save percentage of 92%.

Player Spotlight

Jack Eichel has 39 total points this season for the Sabres. He has 17 goals this year with 149 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 11%. He has a total of 22 assists on the year and averages 20.4 minutes played per contest. Evander Kane averages 19.8 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 9% by scoring 16 goals on 172 attempts. He has 19 assists, giving him a total of 35 points on the year. Robin Lehner has 9 wins and 16 losses this season in net for the Sabres. He has 964 shots against him and he's given up 87 goals. He's made 877 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blue Jackets have 53 total points this year, which is 8th in the NHL. They've scored 121 goals while giving up 121 scores, which has them ranked 19th and 19th respectively. They have had 130 power play chances and scored 16 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 12%. That is 31st in the league. The Blue Jackets have given up 118 power play opportunities and surrendered 24 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%, ranking them 21st when short-handed. They average 34 shots per contest and as a team shoot 8.13% for the year. They allow 32 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 92%, which is 8th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sabres are 30th in the league with a total of 29 points this season. They have 17 power play goals on 132 chances for a percentage of 13%. That is 30th in the NHL. They've given up 133 power play opportunities and surrendered 28 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 79%, ranking 25th overall. As a team, the Sabres are 31st with a total of 96 goals scored while they've given up 150 goals this season, ranking 3rd in goals against. They average 31 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 7.21%. As a unit they give up 32 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 89%, putting them 28th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Columbus is 10th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50.9%, as they've attempted 2,613 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,525 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 52.1% as they have 2,025 attempts while they have given up 1,861 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 7th in the league. The Blue Jackets start possessions in the offensive zone 50.8% of the time, which is 12th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 49.2% for the season. That is 14th overall in the NHL. They have 1,281 face-off wins compared to 1,407 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.7%. That ranks them 27th in the league. On defense Columbus has 959 hits and they have blocked 664 shots from the opposition, putting them 7th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Sabres are 7th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 53% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 47% for the season, which is 24th in the NHL. They have 1,320 face-off wins compared to 1,271 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.9%. That is 9th in the league. On defense Buffalo has 1,007 hits and they have blocked 591 shots from the opposition, which is 22nd in the league. Buffalo is 24th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 48.4% as they've attempted 2,339 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,496 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 48.5% ranks 18th as they have 1,791 attempts while they have given up 1,905 shots on the defensive end.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Columbus -150

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here

Read more articles by Tony Sink