St. Louis Blues at Buffalo Sabres Expert NHL Picks Against the Spread 3/17/2019

Sunday, March 17, 2019

KeyBank Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The St. Louis Blues travel to KeyBank Center to play the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday, March 17, 2019. The opening line for this game has the Blues at -190 and the Sabres at +143.

St. Louis has a record of 36-27-7 this season. They are 3rd in the Central Division. They've scored 198 goals and given up 192 goals for a point differential of +6. For the season they have an ATS record of 36-34-0 and an over/under record of 27-39-0. Buffalo is 30-31-9 this season. They are 6th in the Atlantic Division. They have scored 190 goals and surrendered 223 for a goal differential of -33. Their record against the spread is 30-40-0 while their over/under record is 38-30-0.

Valuable St. Louis Blues Betting Trends

The St. Louis Blues are 36-34-0 straight up this year

The St. Louis Blues are 27-39-0 against the over/under this season

Important Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres are 30-40-0 straight up this year

The Buffalo Sabres are 38-30-0 against the over/under this season

Key St. Louis Blues Injuries

10/04/18 LW Erik Foley Concussion is out for season
03/14/19 LW David Perron Upper Body is questionable Saturday vs Pittsburgh
03/14/19 D Joel Edmundson Lower Body is questionable Saturday vs Pittsburgh
03/14/19 LW Sammy Blais Lower Body is questionable Saturday vs Pittsburgh
03/11/19 RW Vladimir Tarasenko Upper Body is out indefinitely
02/19/19 D Carl Gunnarsson Lower Body IR (02/19)

Key Buffalo Sabres Injuries

03/15/19 C Jack Eichel Suspension Served is probable Saturday vs Carolina
03/14/19 D Zach Bogosian Upper Body is questionable Saturday vs Carolina
03/04/19 D Jake McCabe Upper Body is out 4-6 weeks

Player Spotlight

Ryan O'Reilly has accumulated 67 total points this season for the Blues. He has 26 goals this year with 196 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 13%. He has a total of 41 assists on the season and averages 21 minutes played per game. Brayden Schenn averages 18.7 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 11% by scoring 13 goals on 123 shots. He has 31 assists, giving him a total of 44 points on the season. Jordan Binnington has 16 wins and 4 losses this season in net for the Blues. He has 556 shots against him and he's given up 40 goals. He's made 516 saves for a save percentage of 93%.

Player Spotlight

Jeff Skinner has scored 58 total points this year for the Sabres. He has 36 goals this season with 226 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 16%. He has a total of 22 assists on the season and averages 18.6 minutes played per game. Sam Reinhart averages 18.9 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 12% by scoring 18 goals on 152 shots. He has 40 assists, giving him a total of 58 points on the season. Carter Hutton has 16 wins and 20 losses this year in goal for the Sabres. He has 1,293 shots against him and he's surrendered 116 goals. He's made 1,177 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blues have 79 total points this season, which ranks them 15th in the NHL. They are 21st in the league in goals scored with 198 while they've given up 192 goals, ranking them 27th overall. They have had 209 power play opportunities and have scored 42 goals on those chances for a percentage of 20%. That is 14th in the NHL. The Blues have allowed 205 power play opportunities and have given up 39 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 81%, putting them 12th in the league when short-handed. They average 32 shots per game and as a team shoot 8.93% for the season. They allow 28 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 90%. That puts them 14th in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sabres are 23rd in the NHL with a total of 69 points this year. They have 38 power play goals on 205 opportunities for a percentage of 19%. That ranks them 18th in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 184 power play opportunities and have given up 35 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 81%. That is 11th in the NHL. As a team, the Sabres are 26th in the league with 190 goals scored while they've given up 223 goals, which is 9th overall. They average 33 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 8.33%. As a team they give up 33 shots per game and have a save percentage of 90%. That is 15th in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

St. Louis is 8th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 51.8%, as they've attempted 4,011 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 3,736 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 52.3% as they have 3,019 attempts while they have given up 2,750 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 8th in the league. The Blues start possessions in the offensive zone 52% of the time, which is 11th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 48% for the season. That is 21st overall in the NHL. They have 2,120 face-off wins compared to 1,991 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.6%. That ranks them 5th in the league. On defense St. Louis has 1,392 hits and they have blocked 986 shots from the opposition, putting them 18th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Sabres are 18th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 50.7% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 49.3% for the season, which is 15th in the NHL. They have 2,017 face-off wins compared to 2,161 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48.3%. That is 27th in the league. On defense Buffalo has 1,316 hits and they have blocked 885 shots from the opposition, which is 30th in the league. Buffalo is 15th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 49.8% as they've attempted 3,969 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 4,002 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 49.8% ranks 16th as they have 3,086 attempts while they have given up 3,117 shots on the defensive end.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Buffalo +143

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