Tampa Bay Lightning at Buffalo Sabres NHL Picks & Predictions 1/12/2019

Saturday, January 12, 2019

KeyBank Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Tampa Bay Lightning travel to KeyBank Center to play the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, January 12, 2019. The opening line for this game has the Lightning at -195 and the Sabres at +174.

Tampa Bay has a record of 34-8-2 this season. They are 1st in the Atlantic Division. They have scored 183 goals and given up 125 goals for a point differential of +58. For the season they have an ATS record of 33-10-0 and an over/under record of 25-16-0. Buffalo has a record of 23-14-6 this year. They are 4th in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 125 goals and surrendered 121 for a goal differential of +4. Their record against the spread is 23-20-0 while their over/under record is 21-21-0.

Valuable Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Trends

The Tampa Bay Lightning are 33-10-0 straight up this year

The Tampa Bay Lightning are 25-16-0 against the over/under this season

Important Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres are 23-20-0 straight up this year

The Buffalo Sabres are 21-21-0 against the over/under this season

Key Tampa Bay Lightning Injuries

12/29/18 C J.T. Miller Upper Body is out indefinitely
01/10/19 RW Ryan Callahan Upper Body is questionable Saturday vs Buffalo

Key Buffalo Sabres Injuries

12/07/18 D Casey Nelson Upper Body is out indefinitely
01/09/19 C Jack Eichel Upper Body is questionable Friday vs Carolina

Player Spotlight

Andrei Vasilevskiy has 18 wins and 4 losses this season in net for the Lightning. He has 797 shots against him and he's given up 60 goals. He's made 737 saves for a save percentage of 93%. Nikita Kucherov has accumulated 72 total points this season for the Lightning. He has 21 goals this year with 123 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 17%. He has a total of 51 assists on the season and averages 19.1 minutes played per game. Brayden Point averages 18.5 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 24% by scoring 28 goals on 117 shots. He has 32 assists, giving him a total of 60 points on the season.

Player Spotlight

Sam Reinhart has scored 40 total points this year for the Sabres. He has 9 goals this season with 88 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 10%. He has a total of 31 assists on the season and averages 18.4 minutes played per game. Carter Hutton has 14 wins and 12 losses this year in goal for the Sabres. He has 890 shots against him and he's surrendered 73 goals. He's made 817 saves for a save percentage of 92%. Jeff Skinner averages 18.2 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 22% by scoring 29 goals on 135 shots. He has 13 assists, giving him a total of 42 points on the season.

Useful Team Statistics

The Lightning have allowed 142 power play opportunities and have given up 24 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83% this year. That is 8th in the NHL. They average 33 shots per game and as a team shoot 12.58% for the season. They allow 32 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is ranked 9th in the league. The Lightning have 70 total points this season, ranking 1st in the NHL in offense. They are 1st in the league with 183 goals while they've given up 125 goals, which is 19th overall. They have had 150 power play opportunities and scored 45 goals on those chances for a percentage of 30%. That is 1st in the NHL.

Useful Team Statistics

As a team, the Sabres are 20th with 125 goals scored while they are 24th in the NHL with 121 goals allowed this year. They average 32 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 9.04%. They give up 33 shots per game and have a save percentage of 92%, putting them in 2nd place in the league. The Sabres have a total of 52 points this year, which is 12th in the NHL. They have 24 power play goals on 130 opportunities for a percentage of 18%. That ranks their power play unit 18th. They've allowed 126 power play opportunities and have given up 20 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 84%, which is 5th overall.

Advanced Statistics

Tampa Bay is 11th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50.8%, as they've attempted 2,602 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,518 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 51.1% as they have 1,988 attempts while they have given up 1,900 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 11th in the league. The Lightning start possessions in the offensive zone 50.5% of the time, which is 16th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 49.5% for the season. That is 16th overall in the NHL. They have 1,342 face-off wins compared to 1,316 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.5%. That ranks them 12th in the league. On defense Tampa Bay has 1,060 hits and they have blocked 618 shots from the opposition, putting them 17th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Sabres are 19th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 49.5% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 50.5% for the season, which is 12th in the NHL. They have 1,265 face-off wins compared to 1,359 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48.2%. That is 25th in the league. On defense Buffalo has 777 hits and they have blocked 554 shots from the opposition, which is 31st in the league. Buffalo is 20th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 49% as they've attempted 2,402 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,505 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 49% ranks 20th as they have 1,876 attempts while they have given up 1,951 shots on the defensive end.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Buffalo +174

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