Toronto Maple Leafs at Buffalo Sabres NHL Picks & Predictions 3/15/2018

Thursday, March 15, 2018

KeyBank Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Toronto Maple Leafs travel to KeyBank Center to play the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, March 15, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Maple Leafs at -122 and the Sabres at +111.

Toronto has a record of 40-22-7 this season and on the road they have a record of 17-14-5-2. They are 3rd in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 228 goals and given up 197 goals for a point differential of +31. For the season they have an ATS record of 40-29-0 and an over/under record of 34-31-0. Buffalo is 22-35-12 including 10-19-5-2 at home this season. They are 8th in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 165 goals and surrendered 224 for a goal differential of -59. Their record against the spread is 22-47-0 while their over/under record is 31-34-0.

Valuable Toronto Maple Leafs Betting Trends

The Toronto Maple Leafs are 40-29-0 straight up this year

The Toronto Maple Leafs are 34-31-0 against the over/under this season

Important Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres are 22-47-0 straight up this year

The Buffalo Sabres are 31-34-0 against the over/under this season

Key Toronto Maple Leafs Injuries

11/06/17 LW Joffrey Lupul Hernia IR (10/03)
03/13/18 D Travis Dermott Flu is "?" Wednesday vs Dallas
03/10/18 D Nikita Zaitsev Flu is "?" Wednesday vs Dallas
02/25/18 C Auston Matthews Upper Body IR (02/22)

Key Buffalo Sabres Injuries

03/10/18 LW Evan Rodrigues Upper Body is "?" Thursday vs Toronto
03/10/18 C Seth Griffith Upper Body is "?" Thursday vs Toronto
03/09/18 RW Kyle Okposo Concussion is out indefinitely
03/08/18 C Kyle Criscuolo Shoulder is OUT 4-6 weeks
02/11/18 C Jack Eichel Ankle IR (02/09)
02/08/18 D Jake McCabe Shoulder IR (02/06)
01/27/18 D Zach Bogosian Hip IR (01/09)

Player Spotlight

Mitch Marner has accumulated 56 total points this season for the Maple Leafs. He has 19 goals this year with 165 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 12%. He has a total of 37 assists on the season and averages 16 minutes played per game. William Nylander averages 16.7 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 10% by scoring 14 goals on 147 shots. He has 36 assists, giving him a total of 50 points on the season. Frederik Andersen has 33 wins and 18 losses this season in net for the Maple Leafs. He has 1,935 shots against him and he's given up 156 goals. He's made 1,779 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Player Spotlight

Ryan O'Reilly has scored 50 total points this year for the Sabres. He has 19 goals this season with 184 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 10%. He has a total of 31 assists on the season and averages 20.8 minutes played per game. Kyle Okposo averages 17.1 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 8% by scoring 11 goals on 136 shots. He has 27 assists, giving him a total of 38 points on the season. Robin Lehner has 14 wins and 24 losses this year in goal for the Sabres. He has 1,490 shots against him and he's surrendered 132 goals. He's made 1,358 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Maple Leafs have 87 total points this season, which ranks them 6th in the NHL. They are 6th in the league in goals scored with 228 while they've given up 197 goals, ranking them 21st overall. They have had 188 power play opportunities and have scored 41 goals on those chances for a percentage of 22%. That is 6th in the NHL. The Maple Leafs have allowed 196 power play opportunities and have given up 34 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83%, putting them 6th in the league when short-handed. They average 32 shots per game and as a team shoot 10.38% for the season. They allow 34 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 92%. That puts them 5th in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sabres are 31st in the NHL with a total of 56 points this year. They have 35 power play goals on 208 opportunities for a percentage of 17%. That ranks them 27th in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 202 power play opportunities and have given up 42 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 165 goals scored while they've given up 224 goals, which is 4th overall. They average 31 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 7.84%. As a team they give up 33 shots per game and have a save percentage of 90%. That is 25th in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Toronto has a Corsi percentage of 49.7% as they've tried 4,161 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 4,207 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 18th in Corsi percentage. They are 21st in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 48.5% as they have 3,081 shots while they've given up 3,270 attempts on defense. The Maple Leafs start possessions in the offensive zone 48.8% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 51.2% for the year. That puts them 26th and 10th in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 2,261 face-off wins as opposed to 2,120 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.6%. That is 6th overall in the NHL. On defense Toronto has 1,403 hits and they've blocked 937 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 29th in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Sabres start possessions in the offensive zone 51.6% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 48.4% for the year. That ranks them 8th and 20th respectively in the NHL. They have 2,140 face-off wins as opposed to 1,999 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.7%. That is 5th in the league. On defense Buffalo has 1,505 hits and they've blocked 940 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 27th in blocked shots. Buffalo is ranked 23rd in Corsi percentage with 48% as they've tried 3,712 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 4,025 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 23rd in the NHL at 48.2%, as they have 2,871 shots while they've given up 3,085 attempts on defense.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Buffalo +111

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