New York Rangers at Buffalo Sabres NHL Picks & Predictions 10/6/2018

Saturday, October 6, 2018

KeyBank Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The New York Rangers head to KeyBank Center to take on the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, October 6, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Rangers at +102 and the Sabres at -132.

New York had a record of 34-39-9 last year and away from home they had a record of 13-23-5-3. They were 8th in the Metropolitan Division. They tallied 231 goals and surrendered 268 goals for a point differential of -37. For the year they had an ATS mark of 34-48-0 and an over/under record of 43-35-0. Buffalo finished with a record of 25-45-12 including 11-14-3-1 on home ice last year. They were 8th in the Atlantic Division. They scored 199 goals and gave up 280 for a goal differential of -81. Their record against the spread was 25-57-0 while their over/under mark was 39-38-0.

Valuable New York Rangers Betting Trends

The New York Rangers were 34-48-0 straight up last year

The New York Rangers were 43-35-0 against the over/under last season

Important Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres were 25-57-0 straight up last year

The Buffalo Sabres were 39-38-0 against the over/under last season

Key New York Rangers Injuries

10/04/18 C Boo Nieves Concussion IR (10/04)
10/04/18 LW Matt Beleskey Shoulder is out indefinitely

Key Buffalo Sabres Injuries

10/05/18 D Matt Hunwick Neck is questionable Saturday vs NY Rangers
10/05/18 D Zach Bogosian Lower Body is questionable Saturday vs NY Rangers
10/04/18 C Scott Wilson Leg is out indefinitely
10/04/18 C Sean Malone Knee is out indefinitely
10/03/18 C Johan Larsson Foot IR (10/03)

Player Spotlight

Mats Zuccarello scored 53 total points last year for the Rangers. He had 16 goals last season with 178 shots on net giving him a shooting percentage of 9%. He had a total of 37 assists on the year and averaged 18.9 minutes played per contest. Pavel Buchnevich averaged 15 minutes of ice time per game last season. In that time he had a shooting percentage of 10% by tallying 14 goals on 136 attempts. He had 29 assists giving him a total of 43 points on the year. Henrik Lundqvist had 26 wins and 26 losses last season in goal for the Rangers. He had 2,036 shots against him and he surrendered 174 goals. He made 1,862 stops for a save percentage of 92%.

Player Spotlight

Sam Reinhart had 50 total points last season for the Sabres. He had 25 goals last year with 188 shots on goal giving him a shooting percentage of 13%. He had a total of 25 assists on the year and averaged 17.1 minutes played per contest. Ryan O'Reilly averaged 20.8 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he had a shooting percentage of 10% by scoring 24 goals on 230 attempts. He had 37 assists giving him a total of 61 points on the year. Chad Johnson had 10 wins and 16 losses last season in net for the Sabres. He had 962 shots against him and he gave up 105 goals. He made 857 saves for a save percentage of 89%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Rangers had 77 total points last year, which was 24th in the NHL. They scored 231 goals while giving up 268 scores, which had them ranked 21st and 4th respectively. They had 241 power play chances and scored 51 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 21%. That was 14th in the league. The Rangers gave up 247 power play opportunities and surrendered 46 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 81%, ranking them 12th when short-handed. They averaged 31 shots per contest and as a team shot 9.10% for the year. They allowed 35 shot attempts to their opposition per game and had a team save percentage of 91%, which was 14th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sabres were 31st in the league with a total of 62 points last season. They had 49 power play goals on 257 chances for a percentage of 19%. That was 20th in the NHL. They gave up 235 power play opportunities and surrendered 52 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 78%, ranking 22nd overall. As a team, the Sabres were 31st with a total of 199 goals scored while they gave up 280 goals last season, ranking 3rd in goals against. They averaged 31 shots per game and had a team shooting percentage of 7.78%. As a unit they gave up 33 shots per contest and had a save percentage of 90%, putting them 29th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

New York was 29th in the league in Corsi percentage last season with 46.9%, as they tried 4,523 shots on net at full strength while giving up 5,130 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage was 47% as they had 3,456 attempts while they gave up 3,902 shots on the defensive end. That ranked them 29th in the NHL. The Rangers started possessions in the offensive zone 50.6% of the time, which was 15th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage was at 49.4% for the season. That was 17th overall in the NHL. They had 2,384 face-off wins compared to 2,454 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage was 49.3%. That ranked them 20th in the league. On defense New York had 1,714 hits and they blocked 1,228 shots from the opposition, putting them 13th overall.

Advanced Statistics

Buffalo was 21st in the league in Corsi percentage last season with 48.6%, as they tried 4,489 shots on net at full strength while giving up 4,750 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage was 48.6% as they had 3,473 attempts while they gave up 3,668 shots on the defensive end. That ranked them 22nd in the NHL. The Sabres started possessions in the offensive zone 52.6% of the time, which was 9th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage was at 47.4% for the season. That was 23rd overall in the NHL. They had 2,539 face-off wins compared to 2,388 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage was 51.5%. That ranked them 7th in the league. On defense Buffalo had 1,767 hits and they blocked 1,082 shots from the opposition, putting them 29th overall.

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

Tony's Pick: Take New York +102

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