Buffalo Sabres at Calgary Flames Expert NHL Picks 1/16/2019

Wednesday, January 16, 2019

Scotiabank Saddledome

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Buffalo Sabres head to Scotiabank Saddledome to take on the Calgary Flames on Wednesday, January 16, 2019. The opening line for this contest has the Sabres at +200 and the Flames at -245.

Buffalo has a record of 23-17-6 this year. They are 5th in the Atlantic Division. They've tallied 133 goals and surrendered 137 goals for a point differential of -4. For the year they have an ATS mark of 23-22-0 and an over/under record of 23-21-0. Calgary has a record of 30-13-4 this season. They are 1st in the Pacific Division. They have scored 173 goals and given up 133 for a goal differential of +40. Their record against the spread is 30-17-0 while their over/under mark is 25-21-0.

Valuable Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres are 23-22-0 straight up this year

The Buffalo Sabres are 23-21-0 against the over/under this season

Important Calgary Flames Betting Trends

The Calgary Flames are 30-17-0 straight up this year

The Calgary Flames are 25-21-0 against the over/under this season

Key Buffalo Sabres Injuries

12/07/18 D Casey Nelson Upper Body is out indefinitely

Key Calgary Flames Injuries

11/28/18 D Juuso Valimaki Lower Body is out indefinitely
01/14/19 D Travis Hamonic Personal is questionable Wednesday vs Buffalo

Player Spotlight

Sam Reinhart has scored 42 total points this year for the Sabres. He has 10 goals this season with 95 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 11%. He has a total of 32 assists on the year and averages 18.4 minutes played per contest. Jeff Skinner averages 18.3 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 20% by tallying 30 goals on 148 attempts. He has 14 assists, giving him a total of 44 points on the year. Carter Hutton has 14 wins and 14 losses this season in goal for the Sabres. He has 932 shots against him and he's surrendered 82 goals. He's made 850 stops for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Sean Monahan has 57 total points this season for the Flames. He has 25 goals this year with 145 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 17%. He has a total of 32 assists on the year and averages 19.7 minutes played per contest. Johnny Gaudreau averages 20.3 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 18% by scoring 27 goals on 151 attempts. He has 42 assists, giving him a total of 69 points on the year. David Rittich has 17 wins and 4 losses this season in net for the Flames. He has 746 shots against him and he's given up 60 goals. He's made 686 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sabres have 52 total points this year, which is 14th in the NHL. They've scored 133 goals while giving up 137 scores, which has them ranked 21st and 15th respectively. They have had 142 power play chances and scored 25 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 18%. That is 21st in the league. The Sabres have given up 130 power play opportunities and surrendered 22 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83%, ranking them 6th when short-handed. They average 32 shots per contest and as a team shoot 8.92% for the year. They allow 33 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is 10th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Flames are 2nd in the league with a total of 64 points this season. They have 35 power play goals on 161 chances for a percentage of 22%. That is 10th in the NHL. They've given up 146 power play opportunities and surrendered 32 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 78%, ranking 23rd overall. As a team, the Flames are 2nd with a total of 173 goals scored while they've given up 133 goals this season, ranking 19th in goals against. They average 32 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 11.57%. As a unit they give up 29 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 90%, putting them 16th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Buffalo is 17th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 49.5%, as they've attempted 2,590 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,647 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 49.5% as they have 2,028 attempts while they have given up 2,069 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 20th in the league. The Sabres start possessions in the offensive zone 50.6% of the time, which is 17th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 49.4% for the season. That is 16th overall in the NHL. They have 1,355 face-off wins compared to 1,457 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48.2%. That ranks them 24th in the league. On defense Buffalo has 841 hits and they have blocked 578 shots from the opposition, putting them 31st overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Flames are 6th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 54% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 46% for the season, which is 26th in the NHL. They have 1,438 face-off wins compared to 1,311 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 52.3%. That is 4th in the league. On defense Calgary has 692 hits and they have blocked 584 shots from the opposition, which is 29th in the league. Calgary is 6th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 53% as they've attempted 2,770 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,453 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 52.5% ranks 5th as they have 2,066 attempts while they have given up 1,869 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Buffalo +200

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