Buffalo Sabres vs Colorado Avalanche Predictions, NHL Picks 2/26/2020

Game: Buffalo Sabres vs Colorado Avalanche

Date: Wednesday, February 26, 2020

Location: Pepsi Center in Denver, CO

TV: NBCS/RSN

Odds/Point Spread: Sabres (+186) Avalanche (-208)

Total/Over-Under: 6

Pavel Francouz and the Colorado Avalanche (36-18-7, 2nd in the Central Division) host the Buffalo Sabres (29-25-8, 5th in the Atlantic Division) at Pepsi Center on Wednesday, February 26, 2020. The Sabres open this matchup at +186 while the Avalanche are coming in at -208. The over/under has been set at 6. The Sabres are covering 45.9% of the time, having gone 28-33 SU. Colorado is covering 58.3% of the time, going 35-25 straight up.

The Buffalo Sabres head into this game holding a record of 29 wins and 25 losses, which is good for 5th in the Atlantic Division. During the year thus far, they have scored a total of 181 goals which is good for 11th in the conference and 19th in the league. Their goal differential is -10, which is good for 22nd in the league. The Sabres currently have a total of 66 pts, which is good for 23rd in the league and 13th in the East. In terms of shots on goal, they currently have a total of 1,806 which is good for 14th in the conference and 29th in the league. As a group, Buffalo has compiled a total of 1,091 hits which means they have an average of 17.6 per game. They currently have a total of 587 blocks for the season. In goal for Buffalo is Carter Hutton from Savonlinna, Finland. He is 34 years old and has played a total of 1,543 mins defending the goal this season. Hutton is giving up an average of 3.19 GAA which has him sitting 28th among East goalies and 58th in the NHL. Over the course of this season, he's given up 82 goals. He holds a save % of .897 which has him sitting 30th among East goalies.

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The Buffalo Sabres had a good night with a 2 - 1 victory against the Winnipeg Jets in their last game. The Sabres left a lot to be desired in terms of their offense in this win. While out there on the ice, they scored on 2 of the 25 shots they looked to score on. Furthermore, they had 3 power play attempts but weren't able to score. Buffalo had 2 penalty mins in their game. The Corsi for the Sabres sat at 30 and the Corsi against was 45 which tells us they had a Corsi percentage of 40.0%. Their Fenwick was 26 and the Fenwick against sat at 37, which means they had a Fenwick percentage of 41.3%. They took 14 face-off wins at even strength and lost 34 attempts to control the puck. Their starts in the offensive zone were rated at 45.7% and they had a PDO of 104.8 in this game. When it comes to their opponent, the Winnipeg Jets tallied 26 shots. They finished with 6 penalty mins and they notched 1 power play chance.

The Avalanche are the team on the other side of the ice and for the season they have 36 wins and 18 losses. With regard to goal differential, they currently sit 1st in the conference and 3rd in the NHL with +46. They currently have a total of 211 goals for the season which is 1st in the West. Colorado has a save % as a team of .914 which is good for 6th in the NHL, which means chances to score may be limited. They have a team shooting percentage of 10.6% which is good for 1st in the conference. In net for Colorado is Pavel Francouz who is having a marginal campaign by allowing 2.27 goals against average and that places him 3rd in the Western Conference and 6th in the NHL among goalies. In the 1,428 mins he has played this season, he has allowed 54 goals. He's earned a save % of .927, which puts him at 3rd in the Western Conference and 7th in the NHL among goalies.

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The Colorado Avalanche faced off against the Los Angeles Kings in a game where the Avalanche earned a win by a score of 2 - 1. For this outing, Colorado had a 45.1% Corsi rating. That percentage was had by earning a Corsi of 41 while their opponent had a Corsi of 50. Their Fenwick percentage was 49.3% by earning a Fenwick of 35 and the Kings finishing with a 36 Fenwick. This Corsi percentage speaks to the kind of game that Colorado had and you could say that they have had better days on the ice. They had a PDO at even strength of 98.9 and they had an oZS percentage of 40.4%. The Avalanche converted 2 goals out of the 31 shots on goal they were seeking. They had 5 power play chances in this one but weren't able to put one in the back of the net. Concerning their opponent, the Kings had 2 power play chances but didn't put the puck in goal. Colorado allowed 21 shots on goal and the Kings had a total of 12 minutes in the box.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Buffalo (+186)

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