Washington Capitals at Buffalo Sabres NHL Picks & Predictions 2/19/2018

Monday, February 19, 2018

KeyBank Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Washington Capitals head to KeyBank Center to take on the Buffalo Sabres on Monday, February 19, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Capitals at -167 and the Sabres at +151.

Washington has a record of 33-18-7 this year and away from home they have a record of 13-10-5-1. They are 1st in the Metropolitan Division. They have tallied 182 goals and surrendered 174 goals for a point differential of +8. For the year they have an ATS mark of 33-24-0 and an over/under record of 34-23-0. Buffalo has a record of 17-31-11 including 8-17-4-1 on home ice this year. They are 8th in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 141 goals and have given up 195 for a goal differential of -54. Their record against the spread is 17-41-0 while their over/under mark is 26-29-0.

Valuable Washington Capitals Betting Trends

The Washington Capitals are 33-24-0 straight up this year

The Washington Capitals are 34-23-0 against the over/under this season

Important Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres are 17-41-0 straight up this year

The Buffalo Sabres are 26-29-0 against the over/under this season

Key Washington Capitals Injuries

No key injuries to report

Key Buffalo Sabres Injuries

02/11/18 C Jack Eichel Ankle is out indefinitely
02/08/18 D Jake McCabe Thumb IR (02/06)
01/27/18 D Zach Bogosian Hip IR (01/09)

Player Spotlight

Alex Ovechkin has scored 65 total points this year for the Capitals. He has 34 goals this season with 239 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 14%. He has a total of 31 assists on the year and averages 19.9 minutes played per contest. Nicklas Backstrom averages 19.7 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 14% by tallying 15 goals on 105 attempts. He has 30 assists, giving him a total of 45 points on the year. Braden Holtby has 28 wins and 10 losses this season in goal for the Capitals. He has 1,329 shots against him and he's surrendered 115 goals. He's made 1,214 stops for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Ryan O'Reilly has 43 total points this season for the Sabres. He has 18 goals this year with 155 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 12%. He has a total of 25 assists on the year and averages 20.5 minutes played per contest. Evander Kane averages 19.3 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 9% by scoring 18 goals on 210 attempts. He has 20 assists, giving him a total of 38 points on the year. Robin Lehner has 12 wins and 21 losses this season in net for the Sabres. He has 1,265 shots against him and he's given up 113 goals. He's made 1,152 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Capitals have 73 total points this year, which is 7th in the NHL. They've scored 181 goals while giving up 167 scores, which has them ranked 8th and 19th respectively. They have had 175 power play chances and scored 37 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 21%. That is 11th in the league. The Capitals have given up 190 power play opportunities and surrendered 38 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%, ranking them 19th when short-handed. They average 29 shots per contest and as a team shoot 11.13% for the year. They allow 31 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is 16th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sabres are 30th in the league with a total of 45 points this season. They have 31 power play goals on 176 chances for a percentage of 18%. That is 24th in the NHL. They've given up 177 power play opportunities and surrendered 37 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 79%, ranking 21st overall. As a team, the Sabres are 31st with a total of 139 goals scored while they've given up 191 goals this season, ranking 4th in goals against. They average 31 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 7.82%. As a unit they give up 31 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 90%, putting them 24th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Washington is 27th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 47.5%, as they've attempted 3,149 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 3,483 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 46.6% as they have 2,320 attempts while they have given up 2,663 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 30th in the league. The Capitals start possessions in the offensive zone 49.3% of the time, which is 24th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 50.7% for the season. That is 11th overall in the NHL. They have 1,698 face-off wins compared to 1,682 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.2%. That ranks them 19th in the league. On defense Washington has 1,266 hits and they have blocked 820 shots from the opposition, putting them 21st 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 5th and 22nd respectively in the NHL. They have 1,789 face-off wins as opposed to 1,696 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.3%. That is 10th in the league. On defense Buffalo has 1,305 hits and they've blocked 791 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 26th in blocked shots. Buffalo is ranked 24th in Corsi percentage with 48.3% as they've tried 3,137 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 3,362 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 22nd in the NHL at 48.3%, as they have 2,406 shots while they've given up 2,571 attempts on defense.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Washington -167

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here

Read more articles by Tony Sink