Montreal Canadiens at Buffalo Sabres NHL Picks & Predictions 3/23/2018

Friday, March 23, 2018

KeyBank Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Montreal Canadiens travel to KeyBank Center to play the Buffalo Sabres on Friday, March 23, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Canadiens at -110 and the Sabres at +100.

Montreal has a record of 26-36-12 this season and on the road they have a record of 9-24-4-2. They are 6th in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 185 goals and given up 237 goals for a point differential of -52. For the season they have an ATS record of 26-48-0 and an over/under record of 32-40-0. Buffalo is 23-38-12 including 11-22-5-2 at home this season. They are 8th in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 173 goals and surrendered 240 for a goal differential of -67. Their record against the spread is 23-50-0 while their over/under record is 33-36-0.

Valuable Montreal Canadiens Betting Trends

The Montreal Canadiens are 26-48-0 straight up this year

The Montreal Canadiens are 32-40-0 against the over/under this season

Important Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres are 23-50-0 straight up this year

The Buffalo Sabres are 33-36-0 against the over/under this season

Key Montreal Canadiens Injuries

12/18/17 D Shea Weber Foot IR (12/17)
10/22/17 RW Ales Hemsky Concussion IR (10/20)
03/21/18 RW Andrew Shaw Head is "?" Friday vs Buffalo
03/21/18 D David Schlemko Upper Body is "?" Friday vs Buffalo
03/21/18 LW Phillip Danault Head is "?" Friday vs Buffalo
03/21/18 D Rinat Valiev Lower Body is "?" Friday vs Buffalo
03/05/18 LW Max Pacioretty Lower Body is out indefinitely
03/05/18 D Victor Mete Finger is out for season

Key Buffalo Sabres Injuries

03/21/18 GO Robin Lehner Undisclosed is "?" Friday vs Montreal
03/21/18 C Seth Griffith Upper Body is "?" Friday vs Montreal
03/21/18 C Zemgus Girgensons Undisclosed is "?" Friday vs Montreal
03/17/18 C Jacob Josefson Lower Body is out indefinitely
03/08/18 C Kyle Criscuolo Shoulder is OUT 4-6 weeks
02/08/18 D Jake McCabe Shoulder IR (02/06)
01/27/18 D Zach Bogosian Hip IR (01/09)

Player Spotlight

Max Pacioretty has accumulated 37 total points this season for the Canadiens. He has 17 goals this year with 212 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 8%. He has a total of 20 assists on the season and averages 19 minutes played per game. Brendan Gallagher averages 15.9 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 10% by scoring 26 goals on 250 shots. He has 19 assists, giving him a total of 45 points on the season. Carey Price has 15 wins and 23 losses this season in net for the Canadiens. He has 1,335 shots against him and he's given up 129 goals. He's made 1,206 saves for a save percentage of 90%.

Player Spotlight

Sam Reinhart has scored 42 total points this year for the Sabres. He has 19 goals this season with 163 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 12%. He has a total of 23 assists on the season and averages 17 minutes played per game. Ryan O'Reilly averages 20.9 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 10% by scoring 20 goals on 197 shots. He has 32 assists, giving him a total of 52 points on the season. Robin Lehner has 14 wins and 25 losses this year in goal for the Sabres. He has 1,528 shots against him and he's surrendered 136 goals. He's made 1,392 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Canadiens have 64 total points this season, which ranks them 27th in the NHL. They are 29th in the league in goals scored with 185 while they've given up 237 goals, ranking them 5th overall. They have had 221 power play opportunities and have scored 45 goals on those chances for a percentage of 20%. That is 16th in the NHL. The Canadiens have allowed 237 power play opportunities and have given up 60 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 75%, putting them 31st in the league when short-handed. They average 33 shots per game and as a team shoot 7.53% for the season. They allow 32 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 90%. That puts them 21st in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sabres are 31st in the NHL with a total of 58 points this year. They have 38 power play goals on 223 opportunities for a percentage of 17%. That ranks them 24th in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 210 power play opportunities and have given up 45 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 79%. That is 21st in the NHL. As a team, the Sabres are 31st in the league with 173 goals scored while they've given up 240 goals, which is 3rd overall. They average 31 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 7.72%. As a team they give up 33 shots per game and have a save percentage of 90%. That is 26th in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Montreal has a Corsi percentage of 49.9% as they've tried 4,562 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 4,585 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 17th in Corsi percentage. They are 16th in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 49.9% as they have 3,320 shots while they've given up 3,335 attempts on defense. The Canadiens start possessions in the offensive zone 51.9% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 48.1% for the year. That puts them 11th and 22nd in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 2,181 face-off wins as opposed to 2,386 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.8%. That is 28th overall in the NHL. On defense Montreal has 1,940 hits and they've blocked 1,250 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 1st in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Sabres start possessions in the offensive zone 51.8% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 48.2% for the year. That ranks them 9th and 20th respectively in the NHL. They have 2,277 face-off wins as opposed to 2,113 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.9%. That is 5th in the league. On defense Buffalo has 1,583 hits and they've blocked 984 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 29th in blocked shots. Buffalo is ranked 23rd in Corsi percentage with 48.3% as they've tried 3,982 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 4,258 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 24th in the NHL at 48.3%, as they have 3,064 shots while they've given up 3,274 attempts on defense.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Buffalo +100

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