Edmonton Oilers at Buffalo Sabres Expert NHL Picks 3/4/2019

Monday, March 4, 2019

KeyBank Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Edmonton Oilers head to KeyBank Center to take on the Buffalo Sabres on Monday, March 4, 2019. The opening line for this contest has the Oilers at +125 and the Sabres at -150.

Edmonton has a record of 28-30-7 this year. They are 5th in the Pacific Division. They've tallied 180 goals and surrendered 211 goals for a point differential of -31. For the year they have an ATS mark of 27-37-0 and an over/under record of 29-30-0. Buffalo has a record of 30-27-8 this season. They are 5th in the Atlantic Division. They have scored 183 goals and given up 205 for a goal differential of -22. Their record against the spread is 30-34-0 while their over/under mark is 35-27-0.

Valuable Edmonton Oilers Betting Trends

The Edmonton Oilers are 27-37-0 straight up this year

The Edmonton Oilers are 29-30-0 against the over/under this season

Important Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres are 30-34-0 straight up this year

The Buffalo Sabres are 35-27-0 against the over/under this season

Key Edmonton Oilers Injuries

02/18/19 RW Jesse Puljujarvi Lower Body IR (02/18); is out for season
02/18/19 LW Jujhar Khaira Lower Body IR (02/18)

Key Buffalo Sabres Injuries

03/03/19 D Jake McCabe Undisclosed left last game, is questionable Monday vs Edmonton
03/02/19 C Vladimir Sobotka Upper Body is questionable Monday vs Edmonton

Player Spotlight

Leon Draisaitl has scored 81 total points this year for the Oilers. He has 40 goals this season with 178 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 23%. He has a total of 41 assists on the year and averages 22.3 minutes played per contest. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins averages 20.3 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 12% by tallying 20 goals on 174 attempts. He has 36 assists, giving him a total of 56 points on the year. Mikko Koskinen has 18 wins and 15 losses this season in goal for the Oilers. He has 1,118 shots against him and he's surrendered 100 goals. He's made 1,018 stops for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Jeff Skinner has 57 total points this season for the Sabres. He has 36 goals this year with 219 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 16%. He has a total of 21 assists on the year and averages 18.6 minutes played per contest. Sam Reinhart averages 18.8 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 13% by scoring 18 goals on 144 attempts. He has 40 assists, giving him a total of 58 points on the year. Carter Hutton has 16 wins and 18 losses this season in net for the Sabres. He has 1,171 shots against him and he's given up 105 goals. He's made 1,066 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Oilers have 63 total points this year, which is 25th in the NHL. They've scored 180 goals while giving up 211 scores, which has them ranked 24th and 8th respectively. They have had 189 power play chances and scored 41 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 22%. That is 12th in the league. The Oilers have given up 199 power play opportunities and surrendered 49 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 75%, ranking them 29th when short-handed. They average 29 shots per contest and as a team shoot 9.43% for the year. They allow 31 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 90%, which is 25th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sabres are 20th in the league with a total of 68 points this season. They have 37 power play goals on 194 chances for a percentage of 19%. That is 17th in the NHL. They've given up 168 power play opportunities and surrendered 30 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 82%, ranking 5th overall. As a team, the Sabres are 21st with a total of 183 goals scored while they've given up 205 goals this season, ranking 9th in goals against. They average 33 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 8.62%. As a unit they give up 33 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 90%, putting them 13th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Edmonton is 21st in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 48.6%, as they've attempted 3,526 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 3,730 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 48.4% as they have 2,617 attempts while they have given up 2,792 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 23rd in the league. The Oilers start possessions in the offensive zone 48.9% of the time, which is 22nd in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 51.1% for the season. That is 9th overall in the NHL. They have 1,852 face-off wins compared to 1,980 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48.3%. That ranks them 27th in the league. On defense Edmonton has 1,758 hits and they have blocked 938 shots from the opposition, putting them 14th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Sabres are 17th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 50.9% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 49.1% for the season, which is 16th in the NHL. They have 1,888 face-off wins compared to 1,993 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48.6%. That is 23rd in the league. On defense Buffalo has 1,207 hits and they have blocked 819 shots from the opposition, which is 31st in the league. Buffalo is 15th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 49.8% as they've attempted 3,692 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 3,719 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 49.9% ranks 17th as they have 2,884 attempts while they have given up 2,900 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Edmonton +125

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