Buffalo Sabres at Tampa Bay Lightning NHL Picks & Predictions 2/21/2019

Thursday, February 21, 2019

Amalie Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Buffalo Sabres travel to Amalie Arena to play the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, February 21, 2019. The opening line for this game has the Sabres at +120 and the Lightning at -145.

Buffalo has a record of 28-23-7 this season. They are 5th in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 168 goals and given up 181 goals for a point differential of -13. For the season they have an ATS record of 28-31-0 and an over/under record of 31-26-0. Tampa Bay is 45-11-4 this season. They are 1st in the Atlantic Division. They have scored 237 goals and surrendered 160 for a goal differential of +77. Their record against the spread is 46-15-0 while their over/under record is 31-27-0.

Valuable Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres are 28-31-0 straight up this year

The Buffalo Sabres are 31-26-0 against the over/under this season

Important Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Trends

The Tampa Bay Lightning are 46-15-0 straight up this year

The Tampa Bay Lightning are 31-27-0 against the over/under this season

Key Buffalo Sabres Injuries

02/19/19 RW Kyle Okposo Upper Body is questionable Thursday vs Tampa Bay
02/19/19 D Marco Scandella Undisclosed is questionable Thursday vs Tampa Bay

Key Tampa Bay Lightning Injuries

02/19/19 C Brayden Point Disciplinary is questionable Thursday vs Buffalo
02/19/19 D Victor Hedman Lower Body is questionable Thursday vs Buffalo

Player Spotlight

Jeff Skinner has accumulated 53 total points this season for the Sabres. He has 36 goals this year with 189 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 19%. He has a total of 17 assists on the season and averages 18.7 minutes played per game. Sam Reinhart averages 18.7 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 11% by scoring 14 goals on 126 shots. He has 37 assists, giving him a total of 51 points on the season. Linus Ullmark has 13 wins and 6 losses this season in net for the Sabres. He has 819 shots against him and he's given up 74 goals. He's made 745 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Brayden Point has scored 78 total points this year for the Lightning. He has 35 goals this season with 150 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 23%. He has a total of 43 assists on the season and averages 18.7 minutes played per game. Nikita Kucherov averages 19.5 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 17% by scoring 29 goals on 168 shots. He has 70 assists, giving him a total of 99 points on the season. Andrei Vasilevskiy has 26 wins and 7 losses this year in goal for the Lightning. He has 1,208 shots against him and he's surrendered 85 goals. He's made 1,123 saves for a save percentage of 93%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sabres have 63 total points this season, which ranks them 16th in the NHL. They are 25th in the league in goals scored with 168 while they've given up 181 goals, ranking them 16th overall. They have had 172 power play opportunities and have scored 31 goals on those chances for a percentage of 18%. That is 19th in the NHL. The Sabres have allowed 153 power play opportunities and have given up 28 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 82%, putting them 10th in the league when short-handed. They average 33 shots per game and as a team shoot 8.91% for the season. They allow 32 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 90%. That puts them 12th in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Lightning are 1st in the NHL with a total of 94 points this year. They have 60 power play goals on 198 opportunities for a percentage of 30%. That ranks them 1st in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 192 power play opportunities and have given up 29 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 85%. That is 2nd in the NHL. As a team, the Lightning are 1st in the league with 237 goals scored while they've given up 160 goals, which is 27th overall. They average 32 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 12.26%. As a team they give up 32 shots per game and have a save percentage of 92%. That is 2nd in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Buffalo is 16th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50.1%, as they've attempted 3,282 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 3,275 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 50.1% as they have 2,572 attempts while they have given up 2,561 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 16th in the league. The Sabres start possessions in the offensive zone 51.3% of the time, which is 13th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 48.7% for the season. That is 17th overall in the NHL. They have 1,725 face-off wins compared to 1,762 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49.5%. That ranks them 19th in the league. On defense Buffalo has 1,034 hits and they have blocked 714 shots from the opposition, putting them 30th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Lightning are 18th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 49.9% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 50.1% for the season, which is 13th in the NHL. They have 1,837 face-off wins compared to 1,783 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.7%. That is 11th in the league. On defense Tampa Bay has 1,517 hits and they have blocked 825 shots from the opposition, which is 18th in the league. Tampa Bay is 12th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50.5% as they've attempted 3,474 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 3,409 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 50.6% ranks 13th as they have 2,643 attempts while they have given up 2,584 shots on the defensive end.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Tampa Bay -145

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