Blue Jackets vs Sabres Predictions, Picks, Betting Tips 2/1/2020

Game: Columbus Blue Jackets vs Buffalo Sabres

Date: Saturday, February 1, 2020

Location: KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY

TV: MSGB

Odds/Point Spread: Blue Jackets (-125) Sabres (+113)

Total/Over-Under: 5.5

KeyBank Center is the venue where Carter Hutton and the Buffalo Sabres (22-22-7, 6th in the Atlantic Division) will play the Columbus Blue Jackets (27-16-8, 4th in the Metropolitan Division) on Saturday. The Sabres open this matchup at +113 while the Blue Jackets are coming in at -125. The over/under opens at 5.5. The Blue Jackets cover 52.9% of the time, having gone 27-24 SU. The Sabres cover 42.0% of the time, going 21-29 straight up.

The Columbus Blue Jackets head into this matchup holding a record of 27 wins and 16 defeats, which is good for 4th in the Metropolitan Division. So far this year, they have racked up a total of 138 goals which puts them at 14th in the Eastern Conference and 24th in the NHL. Their goal differential is +10, which is good for 11th in the NHL. The Blue Jackets currently have a total of 62 pts, which puts them at 7th in the NHL and 6th in the East. In terms of shots toward the net, they currently have a total of 1,621 which puts them at 6th in the East and 12th in the NHL. As a unit, Columbus has collected a total of 1,003 hits which means they are averaging 19.7 per game. They currently have a total of 694 blocks for the year. The man in goal for Columbus is Elvis Merzlikins from Riga, Latvia. He is 25 years old and has totaled 1,129 minutes defending the goal for the season. Merzlikins is giving up an average of 2.39 goals per contest which puts him at 5th among Eastern Conference goaltenders and 9th in the NHL among goalies. For the season, he's given up 45 goals. He holds a save % of .926 which puts him at 4th among Eastern Conference goaltenders.

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The Columbus Blue Jackets had a good night with a 4 - 3 victory against the Winnipeg Jets in their last contest. The Blue Jackets had a good offensive outing and it showed in this victory. For this matchup, they finished 4 of the 29 shots they looked to score on. They also had 1 power play attempt and were able to notch 1 goal on that chance. Columbus had a total of 4 penalty mins for this game. The Corsi for the Blue Jackets sat at 56 and the Corsi against was 54 meaning they had a Corsi percentage of 50.9%. Their Fenwick was 42 while the Fenwick against was 37, giving them a rate of 53.2%. They won 36 face-off wins at even strength and were beaten on 25 tries to control the puck. Their starts in the offensive zone came in at 51.9% and they had a PDO of 103.7 for this game. When it comes to their opponent, the Winnipeg Jets tallied a total of 30 shots. They had 2 penalty mins and they tallied 2 power play opportunities.

The Sabres will be looking to add points to their total and for the current year they sit with 22 victories and 22 defeats. When it comes to goal differential, they are sitting 13th in the conference and 24th in the league with -12. They have compiled a total of 147 goals for the season which ranks 11th in the Eastern Conference. Buffalo has a team save percentage of .901 which currently has them sitting 19th in the league, meaning scoring chances could be there if they are opportunistic. They are shooting 9.8% putting them at 8th in the East. In net for Buffalo is Carter Hutton who is having a tough season by giving up 3.24 goals per game and that has him 28th among East goalies and 57th in the NHL among goalies. In the 1,091 mins he's been on the ice, he has surrendered 59 goals. His save % is .894, which puts him at 29th among East goalies and 58th in the NHL among goalies.

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The Buffalo Sabres faced off against the Montreal Canadiens in a game where the Sabres took a loss by a mark of 3 - 1. In their game, Buffalo went home with a 43.7% Corsi rating. That percentage was had by having a Corsi of 38 and the other team having a Corsi of 49. Their Fenwick rate was 44.3% with a Fenwick of 31 and the Canadiens finishing with a 39 Fenwick at even strength. This Corsi rating is telling of the kind of game that Buffalo had and we're sure they will look for better performances in the future. Their PDO at even strength was 90.0 and they had an oZS percentage of 57.1%. The Sabres netted 1 goal of the 21 shots on goal they tried. They had 3 power play attempts in this game and scored 1 out of those attempts. Concerning the opposition, the Canadiens had 1 power play attempt but weren't able to take advantage of it. Buffalo allowed 30 shots on goal and the Canadiens earned a total of 6 penalty minutes.

Who will win tonight's NHL game ATS?

Guy's Pick: Take Buffalo (+113)

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