Buffalo Sabres vs. New York Islanders - 12/14/19 NHL Picks, Odds, and Prediction

Game: Buffalo Sabres vs New York Islanders

Date: Saturday, December 14, 2019

Location: Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, NY

TV: MSGB/MSG+

Odds/Point Spread: Sabres (+165) Islanders (-183)

Total/Over-Under: 5.5

Linus Ullmark and the Buffalo Sabres (16-11-6, 2nd in the Atlantic Division) head to Nassau Coliseum on Saturday where they'll take on the New York Islanders (21-7-2, 2nd in the Metropolitan Division). The line on this game has the Sabres priced at +165 and the Islanders are at -183. The total is set at 5.5. The Sabres are covering 46.9% of the time, having gone 15-17 SU. The Islanders are covering 67.9% of the time, going 19-9 straight up.

The Buffalo Sabres head into this game holding a record of 16 wins and 11 losses, which is good for 2nd in the Atlantic Division. Thus far in the season, they have racked up a total of 104 goals which has them at 6th in the conference and 7th in the NHL. Their goal differential is +5, which is good for 13th in the NHL. The Sabres have earned a total of 38 pts, which has them at 14th in the NHL and 7th in the East. When talking about shots at the opposing goalie, they have earned a total of 1,017 which has them at 9th in the conference and 15th in the NHL. As a team, Buffalo has collected a total of 452 hits which means they have an average of 13.7 per contest. They have earned a total of 284 blocks for the season. In goal for Buffalo is Linus Ullmark from Elmhurst, Illinois. He is 26 years old and has been on the ice a total of 1,079 minutes defending the net this season. Kinkaid is conceding an average of 2.84 goals per game which has him ranking 18th among Eastern Conference goaltenders and 33rd in the NHL among goalies. During this year, he's surrendered 51 goals. He holds a save percentage of .916 which has him ranking 12th among Eastern Conference goaltenders.

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The Buffalo Sabres will head into their next game feeling good after earning a 4 - 3 win over the Nashville Predators their last time out. The Sabres had a solid offensive output and it showed in the win. In their game, they netted 4 of the 32 shots they looked to score on. In addition, they had 1 power play opportunity but weren't able to score. Buffalo ended up with a total of 4 penalty mins in this game. The Corsi for the Sabres sat at 40 and the Corsi against was 42 which earned them a Corsi percentage of 48.8%. Their Fenwick was 32 and the Fenwick against sat at 34, giving them a rate of 48.5%. They took 23 face-off wins at even strength and were beaten on 27 of the face-offs. Their offensive zone starts were rated at 60.0% and they had a PDO of 103.8 for this game. In terms of their opponent's stats, the Nashville Predators racked up a total of 39 shots. They had 2 penalty mins and they earned a total of 2 power play chances.

The Islanders are the team looking to add points to their total and for the year they sit with 21 victories and 7 losses. In connection with goal differential, they sit 4th in the East and 5th in the NHL with +17. They have a total of 87 goals for this season which has them sitting at 12th in the East. New York has a save % as a team of .926 which is good for 2nd in the NHL, which means chances to score may be limited. They have a shooting percentage of 10.3% which is good for 5th in the Eastern Conference. In goal for New York is Semyon Varlamov who is having an average campaign by surrendering 2.26 goals per game and that has him ranked 6th in the Eastern Conference and 8th among goaltenders in the NHL. In the 929 mins he has played, he's allowed 35 goals. He has a save % of .926, which has him sitting 5th in the Eastern Conference and 9th among goaltenders in the NHL.

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The New York Islanders opposed the Florida Panthers in a game where the Islanders notched a victory by a score of 3 - 1. While out there on the ice, New York went home with a 50.0% Corsi rating. They earned that percentage by having a Corsi of 36 while the opposition had a Corsi of 36. Their Fenwick rate came in at 52.7% by earning a Fenwick of 29 and the Panthers having earned a 26 Fenwick at even strength. These Corsi stats tell us the story of the kind of game New York had and you can say they had a mediocre outing. Their PDO was 99.4 and they'll go home having earned an oZS percentage of 41.4%. The Islanders notched 3 goals of the 30 shots on goal they took. They had 4 power play opportunities in this outing and scored 2 out of those opportunities. Concerning the opposition, the Panthers had 3 power play attempts but didn't tally a goal. New York conceded 33 shots on goal and the Panthers racked up 13 minutes in the box.

Who will win tonight's NHL game ATS?

Josh's Pick: Take Buffalo (+165)

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