Florida Panthers at Buffalo Sabres NHL Picks & Predictions 12/18/2018

Tuesday, December 18, 2018

KeyBank Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Florida Panthers head to KeyBank Center to take on the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday, December 18, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Panthers at +120 and the Sabres at -159.

Florida has a record of 12-13-6 this year. They are 8th in the Atlantic Division. They've tallied 101 goals and surrendered 113 goals for a point differential of -12. For the year they have an ATS mark of 12-19-0 and an over/under record of 16-12-0. Buffalo has a record of 20-9-5 this season. They are 2nd in the Atlantic Division. They have scored 105 goals and given up 98 for a goal differential of +7. Their record against the spread is 19-14-0 while their over/under mark is 17-15-0.

Valuable Florida Panthers Betting Trends

The Florida Panthers are 12-19-0 straight up this year

The Florida Panthers are 16-12-0 against the over/under this season

Important Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres are 19-14-0 straight up this year

The Buffalo Sabres are 17-15-0 against the over/under this season

Key Florida Panthers Injuries

12/17/18 C Nick Bjugstad Upper Body is questionable Tuesday vs Buffalo
12/13/18 C Vincent Trocheck Ankle is out indefinitely
10/23/18 C Derek MacKenzie Shoulder is out indefinitely

Key Buffalo Sabres Injuries

12/17/18 D Nathan Beaulieu Undisclosed is questionable Tuesday vs Florida
12/16/18 D Lawrence Pilut Upper Body IR (12/16)
12/15/18 C Patrik Berglund Suspension is out indefinitely
12/07/18 D Casey Nelson Upper Body is out indefinitely
12/05/18 D Jake McCabe Upper Body IR (12/05)
10/04/18 C Scott Wilson Leg is out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Evgeni Dadonov has scored 30 total points this year for the Panthers. He has 14 goals this season with 88 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 16%. He has a total of 16 assists on the year and averages 19.1 minutes played per contest. Aleksander Barkov averages 23.2 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 16% by tallying 14 goals on 88 attempts. He has 17 assists, giving him a total of 31 points on the year. Roberto Luongo has 6 wins and 5 losses this season in goal for the Panthers. He has 394 shots against him and he's surrendered 38 goals. He's made 356 stops for a save percentage of 90%.

Player Spotlight

Jeff Skinner has 35 total points this season for the Sabres. He has 24 goals this year with 102 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 24%. He has a total of 11 assists on the year and averages 18 minutes played per contest. Jack Eichel averages 20.2 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 10% by scoring 14 goals on 148 attempts. He has 31 assists, giving him a total of 45 points on the year. Carter Hutton has 13 wins and 8 losses this season in net for the Sabres. He has 704 shots against him and he's given up 57 goals. He's made 647 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Panthers have 30 total points this year, which is 25th in the NHL. They've scored 101 goals while giving up 113 scores, which has them ranked 16th and 6th respectively. They have had 120 power play chances and scored 33 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 28%. That is 4th in the league. The Panthers have given up 95 power play opportunities and surrendered 20 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 79%, ranking them 17th when short-handed. They average 35 shots per contest and as a team shoot 9.22% for the year. They allow 31 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 89%, which is 30th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sabres are 4th in the league with a total of 45 points this season. They have 21 power play goals on 107 chances for a percentage of 20%. That is 18th in the NHL. They've given up 100 power play opportunities and surrendered 17 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83%, ranking 5th overall. As a team, the Sabres are 14th with a total of 105 goals scored while they've given up 98 goals this season, ranking 19th in goals against. They average 32 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 9.70%. As a unit they give up 33 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 91%, putting them 5th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Florida is 7th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 52.3%, as they've attempted 1,907 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,736 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 52.7% as they have 1,459 attempts while they have given up 1,308 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 7th in the league. The Panthers start possessions in the offensive zone 51.6% of the time, which is 12th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 48.4% for the season. That is 20th overall in the NHL. They have 1,008 face-off wins compared to 1,008 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50%. That ranks them 15th in the league. On defense Florida has 651 hits and they have blocked 428 shots from the opposition, putting them 27th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Sabres are 21st in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 48.6% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 51.4% for the season, which is 11th in the NHL. They have 1,005 face-off wins compared to 1,092 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.9%. That is 26th in the league. On defense Buffalo has 633 hits and they have blocked 454 shots from the opposition, which is 22nd in the league. Buffalo is 22nd in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 48.7% as they've attempted 1,884 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,983 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 49.2% ranks 19th as they have 1,480 attempts while they have given up 1,529 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Florida +120

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