Buffalo Sabres vs. Calgary Flames - 12/5/19 NHL Pick, Odds, and Prediction

Game: Buffalo Sabres vs Calgary Flames

Date: Thursday, December 5, 2019

Location: Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, AB

TV: MSGB/RSNW

Odds/Point Spread: Sabres (+142) Flames (-157)

Total/Over-Under: 5.5

Linus Ullmark and the Buffalo Sabres (13-10-5, 3rd in the Atlantic Division) are headed to Scotiabank Saddledome on Thursday where they'll take on the Calgary Flames (13-12-4, 6th in the Pacific Division). The moneyline on this matchup has the Sabres coming in at +142 and the Flames are at -157. The O/U is set at 5.5. The Sabres are covering 44.4% of the time, having gone 12-15 SU. Calgary covers 38.5% of the time, going 10-16 straight up.

The Buffalo Sabres head into this game holding a record of 13 wins and 10 losses, ranking them 3rd in the Atlantic Division. So far this year, they have racked up a total of 84 goals which has them sitting at 10th in the East and 16th in the league. Their goal differential is +2, ranking them 16th in the league. The Sabres currently have a total of 31 points, which has them sitting at 16th in the league and 8th in the conference. In terms of shots at the opposition, they currently have a total of 873 which has them sitting at 11th in the East and 18th in the league. As a group, Buffalo currently has a total of 391 hits which has them averaging 14 per game. They currently have a total of 250 blocks for this season. Protecting the net for Buffalo is Linus Ullmark from Elmhurst, Illinois. He is 26 years old and has totaled 840 mins minding the goal for the season. Kinkaid is conceding an average of 2.86 goals per contest which has him placed 13th in the East and 29th in the NHL among goalies. During this year, he has surrendered 40 goals. He's earned a save % of .917 which has him placed 7th in the East.

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The Buffalo Sabres came out of this game feeling pretty good about themselves with a 7 - 1 win over the New Jersey Devils in their previous game. The Sabres had a solid offensive output and it showed in this win. For this outing, they finished 7 out of the 32 shots they put on goal. Moreover, they had 2 power play opportunities and were able to net 1 goal out of those chances. Buffalo ended up with a total of 10 penalty minutes in this matchup. The Corsi for the Sabres was 29 and the Corsi against was 41 which means they had a Corsi percentage of 41.4%. Their Fenwick sat at 26 and the Fenwick against was 33, which tells us they had a Fenwick percentage of 44.1%. They took 24 face-off wins at even strength and were beaten on 20 attempts to control the puck. Their starts in the offensive zone were rated at 17.3% and they had a PDO of 128.6 in this game. In discussing stats from the opponent, the New Jersey Devils racked up 45 shots. They had 6 minutes in the box and they tallied 4 power play chances.

The Flames will be looking to get a victory in this matchup and for the year they have 13 wins and 12 defeats. Regarding goal differential, they are currently ranked 14th in the Western Conference and 27th in the NHL with -16. They have compiled a total of 70 goals for the year which has them at 15th in the conference. Calgary has a save percentage as a team of .907 which has them sitting 17th in the NHL, meaning there should be some opportunities to score. They have a team shooting percentage of 7.7% which is good for 14th in the Western Conference. In net for Calgary is David Rittich who is having an ok year by allowing 2.68 goals per contest and that ranks him 11th among West goalies and 19th among goaltenders in the NHL. In the 1,387 mins he has been on the ice this season, he has surrendered 62 goals. His save % is .915, which places him at 11th among West goalies and 18th among goaltenders in the NHL.

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The Calgary Flames played the Ottawa Senators in an outing where the Flames took home the win by a final score of 3 - 1. In their game, Calgary wound up with a 46.3% Corsi rating. They got to that percentage by earning a Corsi of 38 and their opponent having a Corsi of 44. Their Fenwick percentage came in at 46.8% by earning a Fenwick of 29 and the Senators earning a 33 Fenwick. These Corsi stats speak to the kind of game that Calgary played and it shows us they played like an average team. They had a PDO of 106.3 and they had an oZS percentage of 56.4%. The Flames netted 3 goals of the 27 shots on goal they took. They had 3 power play chances in this outing and were able to net 1 out of those tries. On the other side of the ice, the Senators had 1 power play attempt but didn't tally a goal. Calgary conceded 27 shots on goal and the Senators racked up a total of 6 penalty minutes.

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlays Pundit's Pick: Take Calgary (-157) and under the total goals

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