Winnipeg Jets at Buffalo Sabres NHL Picks & Predictions 1/9/2018

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

KeyBank Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Winnipeg Jets travel to KeyBank Center to play the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday, January 9, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Jets at -155 and the Sabres at +140.

Winnipeg has a record of 25-11-7 this season and on the road they have a record of 9-8-6-1. They are 1st in the Central Division. They've scored 144 goals and given up 117 goals for a point differential of +27. For the season they have an ATS record of 24-18-0 and an over/under record of 22-18-0. Buffalo is 10-23-9 including 5-10-3-1 at home this season. They are 8th in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 92 goals and surrendered 143 for a goal differential of -51. Their record against the spread is 10-31-0 while their over/under record is 17-21-0.

Valuable Winnipeg Jets Betting Trends

The Winnipeg Jets are 24-18-0 straight up this year

The Winnipeg Jets are 22-18-0 against the over/under this season

Important Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres are 10-31-0 straight up this year

The Buffalo Sabres are 17-21-0 against the over/under this season

Key Winnipeg Jets Injuries

12/31/17 LW Brandon Tanev Lower Body IR (12/29)
12/28/17 C Mark Scheifele Upper Body IR (12/27)
01/07/18 C Adam Lowry Upper Body is "?" Tuesday vs Buffalo

Key Buffalo Sabres Injuries

11/17/17 D Taylor Fedun Lower Body IR (11/15)
01/07/18 D Victor Antipin Illness is "?" Tuesday vs Winnipeg

Player Spotlight

Nikolaj Ehlers has accumulated 32 total points this season for the Jets. He has 17 goals this year with 123 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 14%. He has a total of 15 assists on the season and averages 16.1 minutes played per game. Nikolaj Ehlers averages 16.1 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 14% by scoring 17 goals on 123 shots. He has 15 assists, giving him a total of 32 points on the season. Connor Hellebuyck has 23 wins and 4 losses this season in net for the Jets. He has 1,041 shots against him and he's given up 80 goals. He's made 961 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Player Spotlight

Jack Eichel has scored 36 total points this year for the Sabres. He has 15 goals this season with 143 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 11%. He has a total of 21 assists on the season and averages 20.4 minutes played per game. Evander Kane averages 19.8 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 9% by scoring 16 goals on 170 shots. He has 19 assists, giving him a total of 35 points on the season. Robin Lehner has 9 wins and 16 losses this year in goal for the Sabres. He has 947 shots against him and he's surrendered 84 goals. He's made 863 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Jets have 57 total points this season, which ranks them 3rd in the NHL. They are 3rd in the league in goals scored with 144 while they've given up 117 goals, ranking them 23rd overall. They have had 156 power play opportunities and have scored 39 goals on those chances for a percentage of 25%. That is 2nd in the NHL. The Jets have allowed 151 power play opportunities and have given up 28 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 81%, putting them 13th in the league when short-handed. They average 32 shots per game and as a team shoot 10.45% for the season. They allow 32 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 92%. That puts them 10th in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sabres are 30th in the NHL with a total of 29 points this year. They have 16 power play goals on 129 opportunities for a percentage of 12%. That ranks them 31st in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 129 power play opportunities and have given up 26 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%. That is 22nd in the NHL. As a team, the Sabres are 31st in the league with 92 goals scored while they've given up 143 goals, which is 3rd overall. They average 31 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 7.09%. As a team they give up 32 shots per game and have a save percentage of 90%. That is 27th in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Winnipeg has a Corsi percentage of 49.4% as they've tried 2,497 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 2,557 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 23rd in Corsi percentage. They are 17th in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 50% as they have 1,883 shots while they've given up 1,886 attempts on defense. The Jets start possessions in the offensive zone 49.9% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 50.1% for the year. That puts them 21st and 14th in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 1,411 face-off wins as opposed to 1,263 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 52.8%. That is 4th overall in the NHL. On defense Winnipeg has 934 hits and they've blocked 671 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 4th in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Sabres are 7th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 52.6% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 47.4% for the season, which is 23rd in the NHL. They have 1,295 face-off wins compared to 1,234 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.2%. That is 9th in the league. On defense Buffalo has 991 hits and they have blocked 584 shots from the opposition, which is 23rd in the league. Buffalo is 24th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 48.3% as they've attempted 2,283 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,442 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 48.4% ranks 22nd as they have 1,744 attempts while they have given up 1,858 shots on the defensive end.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Buffalo +140

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