Buffalo Sabres at Montreal Canadiens Expert NHL Picks 3/23/2019

Saturday, March 23, 2019

Bell Centre

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Buffalo Sabres head to Bell Centre to take on the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, March 23, 2019. The opening line for this contest has the Sabres at +150 and the Canadiens at -185.

Buffalo has a record of 31-33-9 this year. They are 6th in the Atlantic Division. They've tallied 197 goals and surrendered 234 goals for a point differential of -37. For the year they have an ATS mark of 31-42-0 and an over/under record of 39-31-0. Montreal has a record of 39-28-7 this season. They are 4th in the Atlantic Division. They have scored 217 goals and given up 213 for a goal differential of +4. Their record against the spread is 38-35-0 while their over/under mark is 30-39-0.

Valuable Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres are 31-42-0 straight up this year

The Buffalo Sabres are 39-31-0 against the over/under this season

Important Montreal Canadiens Betting Trends

The Montreal Canadiens are 38-35-0 straight up this year

The Montreal Canadiens are 30-39-0 against the over/under this season

Key Buffalo Sabres Injuries

03/04/19 D Jake McCabe Upper Body is out 4-6 weeks

Key Montreal Canadiens Injuries

No key injuries to report

Player Spotlight

Sam Reinhart has scored 59 total points this year for the Sabres. He has 18 goals this season with 155 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 12%. He has a total of 41 assists on the year and averages 18.9 minutes played per contest. Jeff Skinner averages 18.7 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 16% by tallying 37 goals on 237 attempts. He has 22 assists, giving him a total of 59 points on the year. Carter Hutton has 17 wins and 21 losses this season in goal for the Sabres. He has 1,371 shots against him and he's surrendered 122 goals. He's made 1,249 stops for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Max Domi has 64 total points this season for the Canadiens. He has 25 goals this year with 176 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 14%. He has a total of 39 assists on the year and averages 17.4 minutes played per contest. Tomas Tatar averages 16.3 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 12% by scoring 22 goals on 180 attempts. He has 29 assists, giving him a total of 51 points on the year. Carey Price has 31 wins and 22 losses this season in net for the Canadiens. He has 1,743 shots against him and he's given up 144 goals. He's made 1,599 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sabres have 71 total points this year, which is 25th in the NHL. They've scored 197 goals while giving up 234 scores, which has them ranked 27th and 9th respectively. They have had 211 power play chances and scored 39 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 18%. That is 18th in the league. The Sabres have given up 190 power play opportunities and surrendered 35 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 82%, ranking them 9th when short-handed. They average 33 shots per contest and as a team shoot 8.29% for the year. They allow 33 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 90%, which is 16th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Canadiens are 14th in the league with a total of 85 points this season. They have 27 power play goals on 220 chances for a percentage of 12%. That is 31st in the NHL. They've given up 227 power play opportunities and surrendered 44 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 81%, ranking 15th overall. As a team, the Canadiens are 18th with a total of 217 goals scored while they've given up 213 goals this season, ranking 20th in goals against. They average 34 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 8.69%. As a unit they give up 31 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 91%, putting them 11th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Buffalo is 15th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 49.8%, as they've attempted 4,144 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 4,179 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 49.8% as they have 3,231 attempts while they have given up 3,260 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 16th in the league. The Sabres start possessions in the offensive zone 50.7% of the time, which is 18th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 49.3% for the season. That is 14th overall in the NHL. They have 2,093 face-off wins compared to 2,252 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48.2%. That ranks them 27th in the league. On defense Buffalo has 1,390 hits and they have blocked 919 shots from the opposition, putting them 30th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Canadiens are 9th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 52.3% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 47.7% for the season, which is 22nd in the NHL. They have 2,162 face-off wins compared to 2,259 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48.9%. That is 23rd in the league. On defense Montreal has 1,987 hits and they have blocked 1,065 shots from the opposition, which is 15th in the league. Montreal is 5th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 53.2% as they've attempted 4,724 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 4,152 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 52.6% ranks 6th as they have 3,423 attempts while they have given up 3,087 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Buffalo +150

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