St. Louis Blues at Buffalo Sabres NHL Picks & Predictions 2/3/2018

Saturday, February 3, 2018

KeyBank Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The St. Louis Blues travel to KeyBank Center to play the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, February 3, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Blues at -160 and the Sabres at +144.

St. Louis has a record of 31-19-3 this season and on the road they have a record of 13-9-3-0. They are 3rd in the Central Division. They've scored 152 goals and given up 134 goals for a point differential of +18. For the season they have an ATS record of 31-22-0 and an over/under record of 20-33-0. Buffalo is 14-28-9 including 6-14-3-1 at home this season. They are 8th in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 117 goals and surrendered 170 for a goal differential of -53. Their record against the spread is 14-37-0 while their over/under record is 21-27-0.

Valuable St. Louis Blues Betting Trends

The St. Louis Blues are 31-22-0 straight up this year

The St. Louis Blues are 20-33-0 against the over/under this season

Important Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres are 14-37-0 straight up this year

The Buffalo Sabres are 21-27-0 against the over/under this season

Key St. Louis Blues Injuries

10/07/17 LW Zachary Sanford Shoulder IR (10/01)
09/27/17 C Robby Fabbri ACL IR (10/01)

Key Buffalo Sabres Injuries

02/02/18 C Johan Larsson Possible Suspension is "?" Saturday vs St. Louis
01/27/18 D Zach Bogosian Lower Body IR (01/09)
01/23/18 D Nathan Beaulieu Concussion IR (01/22)

Player Spotlight

Brayden Schenn has accumulated 51 total points this season for the Blues. He has 21 goals this year with 137 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 15%. He has a total of 30 assists on the season and averages 19.5 minutes played per game. Vladimir Tarasenko averages 19.8 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 10% by scoring 21 goals on 211 shots. He has 26 assists, giving him a total of 47 points on the season. Carter Hutton has 13 wins and 4 losses this season in net for the Blues. He has 561 shots against him and he's given up 31 goals. He's made 530 saves for a save percentage of 95%.

Player Spotlight

Evander Kane has scored 36 total points this year for the Sabres. He has 16 goals this season with 193 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 8%. He has a total of 20 assists on the season and averages 19.4 minutes played per game. Jack Eichel averages 20.3 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 11% by scoring 20 goals on 181 shots. He has 29 assists, giving him a total of 49 points on the season. Robin Lehner has 11 wins and 19 losses this year in goal for the Sabres. He has 1,107 shots against him and he's surrendered 97 goals. He's made 1,010 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blues have 65 total points this season, which ranks them 6th in the NHL. They are 12th in the league in goals scored with 152 while they've given up 134 goals, ranking them 26th overall. They have had 171 power play opportunities and have scored 28 goals on those chances for a percentage of 16%. That is 27th in the NHL. The Blues have allowed 157 power play opportunities and have given up 29 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 82%, putting them 16th in the league when short-handed. They average 33 shots per game and as a team shoot 8.58% for the season. They allow 31 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 92%. That puts them 6th in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sabres are 30th in the NHL with a total of 37 points this year. They have 26 power play goals on 157 opportunities for a percentage of 17%. That ranks them 25th in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 152 power play opportunities and have given up 33 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 78%. That is 24th in the NHL. As a team, the Sabres are 31st in the league with 117 goals scored while they've given up 170 goals, which is 3rd overall. They average 31 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 7.41%. As a team they give up 33 shots per game and have a save percentage of 90%. That is 27th in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

St. Louis is 14th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 51.1%, as they've attempted 3,181 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 3,050 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 52.2% as they have 2,418 attempts while they have given up 2,218 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 8th in the league. The Blues start possessions in the offensive zone 50.6% of the time, which is 16th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 49.4% for the season. That is 19th overall in the NHL. They have 1,593 face-off wins compared to 1,600 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49.9%. That ranks them 18th in the league. On defense St. Louis has 1,195 hits and they have blocked 832 shots from the opposition, putting them 2nd overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Sabres start possessions in the offensive zone 52.7% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 47.3% for the year. That ranks them 6th and 25th respectively in the NHL. They have 1,562 face-off wins as opposed to 1,501 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51%. That is 11th in the league. On defense Buffalo has 1,158 hits and they've blocked 698 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 26th in blocked shots. Buffalo is ranked 20th in Corsi percentage with 48.5% as they've tried 2,783 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 2,961 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 18th in the NHL at 48.5%, as they have 2,129 shots while they've given up 2,263 attempts on defense.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Buffalo +144

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