New York Islanders at Buffalo Sabres NHL Picks & Predictions 2/8/2018

Thursday, February 8, 2018

KeyBank Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The New York Islanders head to KeyBank Center to take on the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, February 8, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Islanders at -125 and the Sabres at +113.

New York has a record of 26-22-6 this year and away from home they have a record of 12-14-2-0. They are 6th in the Metropolitan Division. They have tallied 181 goals and surrendered 197 goals for a point differential of -16. For the year they have an ATS mark of 26-28-0 and an over/under record of 34-17-0. Buffalo has a record of 14-29-10 including 6-15-4-1 on home ice this year. They are 8th in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 120 goals and have given up 175 for a goal differential of -55. Their record against the spread is 14-39-0 while their over/under mark is 22-28-0.

Valuable New York Islanders Betting Trends

The New York Islanders are 26-28-0 straight up this year

The New York Islanders are 34-17-0 against the over/under this season

Important Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres are 14-39-0 straight up this year

The Buffalo Sabres are 22-28-0 against the over/under this season

Key New York Islanders Injuries

12/28/17 D Johnny Boychuk Lower Body IR (12/27)
12/18/17 D Calvin de Haan Shoulder IR (12/16)
11/08/17 LW Nikolay Kulemin Shoulder IR (11/06)
02/05/18 D Scott Mayfield Upper Body left last game, is "?" Thursday vs Buffalo
02/05/18 LW Tanner Fritz Lower Body is "?" Thursday vs Buffalo
01/20/18 LW Shane Prince Upper Body IR (01/18)

Key Buffalo Sabres Injuries

02/06/18 D Jake McCabe Undisclosed left last game, is "?" Thursday vs NY Islanders
02/06/18 C Johan Larsson Suspension Served is probable Thursday vs NY Islanders
01/27/18 D Zach Bogosian Lower Body IR (01/09)

Player Spotlight

Josh Bailey has scored 57 total points this year for the Islanders. He has 13 goals this season with 89 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 15%. He has a total of 44 assists on the year and averages 17.9 minutes played per contest. Anders Lee averages 17.2 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 21% by tallying 27 goals on 132 attempts. He has 16 assists, giving him a total of 43 points on the year. Jaroslav Halak has 16 wins and 15 losses this season in goal for the Islanders. He has 1,218 shots against him and he's surrendered 110 goals. He's made 1,108 stops for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Jack Eichel has 51 total points this season for the Sabres. He has 21 goals this year with 194 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 11%. He has a total of 30 assists on the year and averages 20.4 minutes played per contest. Evander Kane averages 19.4 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 8% by scoring 16 goals on 197 attempts. He has 20 assists, giving him a total of 36 points on the year. Robin Lehner has 11 wins and 20 losses this season in net for the Sabres. He has 1,173 shots against him and he's given up 102 goals. He's made 1,071 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Islanders have 58 total points this year, which is 20th in the NHL. They've scored 181 goals while giving up 197 scores, which has them ranked 2nd and 1st respectively. They have had 167 power play chances and scored 34 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 20%. That is 17th in the league. The Islanders have given up 159 power play opportunities and surrendered 41 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 74%, ranking them 30th when short-handed. They average 31 shots per contest and as a team shoot 10.72% for the year. They allow 36 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 90%, which is 29th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sabres are 30th in the league with a total of 38 points this season. They have 27 power play goals on 163 chances for a percentage of 17%. That is 25th in the NHL. They've given up 156 power play opportunities and surrendered 34 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 78%, ranking 25th overall. As a team, the Sabres are 31st with a total of 120 goals scored while they've given up 175 goals this season, ranking 4th in goals against. They average 31 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 7.33%. As a unit they give up 33 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 90%, putting them 26th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

New York is 28th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 47.3%, as they've attempted 3,078 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 3,434 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 46.5% as they have 2,268 attempts while they have given up 2,614 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 30th in the league. The Islanders start possessions in the offensive zone 47.9% of the time, which is 30th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 52.1% for the season. That is 7th overall in the NHL. They have 1,587 face-off wins compared to 1,703 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48.2%. That ranks them 28th in the league. On defense New York has 1,167 hits and they have blocked 820 shots from the opposition, putting them 9th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Sabres are 5th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 52.8% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 47.2% for the season, which is 25th in the NHL. They have 1,635 face-off wins compared to 1,560 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.2%. That is 11th in the league. On defense Buffalo has 1,191 hits and they have blocked 724 shots from the opposition, which is 26th in the league. Buffalo is 24th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 48.4% as they've attempted 2,890 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 3,077 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 48.4% ranks 24th as they have 2,206 attempts while they have given up 2,353 shots on the defensive end.

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

Guy's Pick: Take New York -125

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