Buffalo Sabres vs Montreal Canadiens Predictions, NHL Free Pick 3/12/2020

Game: Buffalo Sabres vs Montreal Canadiens

Date: Thursday, March 12, 2020

Location: Bell Centre in Montreal, QC

TV: MSGB/TSN2/RDS

Odds/Point Spread: Sabres (+131) Canadiens (-145)

Total/Over-Under: 6

Bell Centre is the venue where Carey Price and the Montreal Canadiens (31-31-9, 5th in the Atlantic Division) will play the Buffalo Sabres (30-31-8, 6th in the Atlantic Division) on Thursday. The Sabres open this matchup at +131 while the Canadiens are priced at -145. The over/under has been set at 6. The Sabres cover 41.8% of the time, having gone 28-39 SU. Montreal is covering 40.3% of the time, going 27-40 straight up.

The Buffalo Sabres head into this game holding a record of 30 wins and 31 defeats, ranking them 6th in the Atlantic Division. During the year thus far, they have racked up a total of 193 goals which has them sitting at 11th in the East and 21st in the league. Their goal differential is -22, ranking them 25th in the league. The Sabres have compiled a total of 68 points, which has them sitting at 25th in the league and 13th in the conference. in respect to shots at the opposition, they have compiled a total of 2,021 which has them sitting at 14th in the Eastern Conference and 29th in the league. As a unit, Buffalo currently has a total of 1,233 hits which has them averaging 17.9 per game. They have compiled a total of 660 blocks for this year. The man protecting the goal for Buffalo is Carter Hutton from Savonlinna, Finland. He is 34 years old and has been on the ice a total of 1,775 minutes defending the net this season. Hutton is giving up 3.18 goals per contest which ranks him 28th among East goalies and 58th in the NHL. For the season, he has allowed 94 goals. His save % is .898 which ranks him 29th among East goalies.

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The Buffalo Sabres were on the right side of the scoreboard with a 3 - 2 win against the Washington Capitals in their last contest. The Sabres had a middle of the road offensive performance in this victory. In this matchup, they finished 3 out of the 26 shots they looked to score on. Furthermore, they had 3 power play opportunities and were able to net 1 goal out of those tries. Buffalo racked up a total of 2 penalty mins in their game. The Corsi for the Sabres sat at 36 and the Corsi against was 52 meaning they had a Corsi percentage of 40.9%. Their Fenwick was 27 while the Fenwick against sat at 41, telling us they have a rate of 39.7%. They won 30 face-off wins and were beaten on 25 tries to control the puck. Their offensive zone starts came in at 38.6% and they had a PDO at even strength of 98.8 for this matchup. When it comes to their opponent, the Washington Capitals racked up a total of 35 shots. Their total at the end of the game was 6 minutes in the box and they notched 1 power play opportunity.

The Canadiens will be on the other side of the ice and for the season they sit with 31 victories and 31 losses. In connection with goal differential, they are sitting 12th in the East and 24th in the league with -12. They have a total of 208 goals for this season which ranks 10th in the Eastern Conference. Montreal has a team save percentage of .900 which has them ranked 22nd in the league, meaning scoring chances could present themselves. They have a shooting percentage of 8.6% putting them at 14th in the Eastern Conference. In goal for Montreal is Carey Price who is having a marginal season by allowing 2.79 goals against average and that places him 17th in the East and 33rd in the NHL among goalies. In the 3,440 mins he has played this season, he's surrendered 160 goals. His save percentage is .909, which places him at 18th in the East and 37th in the NHL among goalies.

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The Montreal Canadiens squared up with the Nashville Predators in an outing where the Canadiens ended up losing by a score of 4 - 2. In this outing, Montreal went home with a 60.2% Corsi rating. They wound up with that percentage by having a Corsi of 62 and the team opposite of them having a Corsi of 41. Their Fenwick rate was 50.0% by way of having a Fenwick of 37 and the Predators finishing with a 37 Fenwick. These Corsi stats speak to the kind of game that Montreal had and we'd say it was a below average outing in all. Their PDO at even strength was 97.3 and they finished this one with an oZS percentage of 56.8%. The Canadiens netted 2 goals out of the 34 shots on goal they took. They had 2 power play attempts in this game but didn't put one in the back of the net. Concerning the opposition, the Predators had 4 power play attempts and came through by scoring 1 goal. Montreal conceded 36 shots on goal and the Predators racked up a total of 4 penalty mins.

Who will win tonight's NHL game ATS?

Josh's Pick: Take Montreal (-145)

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