Buffalo Sabres at Boston Bruins NHL Picks & Predictions 1/5/2019

Saturday, January 5, 2019

TD Garden

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Buffalo Sabres travel to TD Garden to play the Boston Bruins on Saturday, January 5, 2019. The opening line for this game has the Sabres at +175 and the Bruins at -195.

Buffalo has a record of 22-13-6 this season. They are 4th in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 119 goals and given up 118 goals for a point differential of +1. For the season they have an ATS record of 21-19-0 and an over/under record of 19-20-0. Boston is 23-14-4 this season. They are 3rd in the Atlantic Division. They have scored 120 goals and surrendered 109 for a goal differential of +11. Their record against the spread is 22-18-0 while their over/under record is 15-23-0.

Valuable Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres are 21-19-0 straight up this year

The Buffalo Sabres are 19-20-0 against the over/under this season

Important Boston Bruins Betting Trends

The Boston Bruins are 22-18-0 straight up this year

The Boston Bruins are 15-23-0 against the over/under this season

Key Buffalo Sabres Injuries

12/29/18 C Zemgus Girgensons Upper Body is out indefinitely
12/07/18 D Casey Nelson Upper Body is out indefinitely
10/04/18 C Scott Wilson Leg is out indefinitely
01/04/19 C Jack Eichel Upper Body is out Saturday vs Boston

Key Boston Bruins Injuries

01/04/19 D Charlie McAvoy Lower Body is questionable Saturday vs Buffalo
01/04/19 RW David Backes Suspension Served is probable Saturday vs Buffalo
01/03/19 C Joakim Nordstrom Fibula is out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Sam Reinhart has accumulated 40 total points this season for the Sabres. He has 9 goals this year with 83 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 11%. He has a total of 31 assists on the season and averages 18.4 minutes played per game. Jeff Skinner averages 18.2 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 22% by scoring 28 goals on 126 shots. He has 13 assists, giving him a total of 41 points on the season. Carter Hutton has 13 wins and 12 losses this season in net for the Sabres. He has 869 shots against him and he's given up 72 goals. He's made 797 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Player Spotlight

David Pastrnak has scored 52 total points this year for the Bruins. He has 25 goals this season with 160 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 16%. He has a total of 27 assists on the season and averages 19.4 minutes played per game. Brad Marchand averages 19.9 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 12% by scoring 15 goals on 122 shots. He has 29 assists, giving him a total of 44 points on the season. Tuukka Rask has 10 wins and 8 losses this year in goal for the Bruins. He has 584 shots against him and he's surrendered 50 goals. He's made 534 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sabres have 50 total points this season, which ranks them 9th in the NHL. They are 18th in the league in goals scored with 119 while they've given up 118 goals, ranking them 19th overall. They have had 128 power play opportunities and have scored 24 goals on those chances for a percentage of 19%. That is 19th in the NHL. The Sabres have allowed 120 power play opportunities and have given up 20 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83%, putting them 7th in the league when short-handed. They average 32 shots per game and as a team shoot 9.04% for the season. They allow 33 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 91%. That puts them 5th in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Bruins are 8th in the NHL with a total of 50 points this year. They have 37 power play goals on 133 opportunities for a percentage of 28%. That ranks them 4th in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 123 power play opportunities and have given up 24 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%. That is 12th in the NHL. As a team, the Bruins are 17th in the league with 120 goals scored while they've given up 109 goals, which is 29th overall. They average 33 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 8.92%. As a team they give up 32 shots per game and have a save percentage of 92%. That is 3rd in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Buffalo is 21st in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 48.8%, as they've attempted 2,280 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,395 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 48.9% as they have 1,784 attempts while they have given up 1,863 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 21st in the league. The Sabres start possessions in the offensive zone 49.2% of the time, which is 21st in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 50.8% for the season. That is 11th overall in the NHL. They have 1,203 face-off wins compared to 1,295 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48.2%. That ranks them 24th in the league. On defense Buffalo has 732 hits and they have blocked 532 shots from the opposition, putting them 26th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Bruins are 5th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 54.3% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 45.7% for the season, which is 26th in the NHL. They have 1,236 face-off wins compared to 1,241 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49.9%. That is 15th in the league. On defense Boston has 968 hits and they have blocked 524 shots from the opposition, which is 29th in the league. Boston is 9th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 51.5% as they've attempted 2,439 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,301 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 51.5% ranks 10th as they have 1,884 attempts while they have given up 1,777 shots on the defensive end.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Boston -195

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