Canucks vs Sabres Predictions, Picks, Tips 1/11/2020

Game: Vancouver Canucks vs Buffalo Sabres

Date: Saturday, January 11, 2020

Location: KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY

TV: MSGB/RSN

Odds/Point Spread: Canucks (+104) Sabres (-115)

Total/Over-Under: 6

Jacob Markstrom and the Vancouver Canucks (23-17-4, 5th in the Pacific Division) go to KeyBank Center on Saturday where they'll meet the Buffalo Sabres (19-18-7, 5th in the Atlantic Division). The Sabres open this matchup at -115 while the Canucks are priced at +104. The over/under has been set at 6. The Canucks are covering 48.8% of the time, having gone 20-21 SU. Buffalo covers 41.9% of the time, going 18-25 straight up.

The Vancouver Canucks head into this game holding a record of 23 wins and 17 defeats, which puts them at 5th in the Pacific Division. Thus far in the season, they have scored a total of 142 goals which has them sitting at 5th in the Western Conference and 13th in the league. Their goal differential is +4, which puts them at 16th in the league. The Canucks currently have a total of 50 points, which has them sitting at 19th in the league and 9th in the West. When it comes to shots at the opposition, they currently have a total of 1,378 which has them sitting at 9th in the conference and 19th in the league. As a team, Vancouver currently has a total of 821 hits which has them averaging 18.7 per contest. They currently have a total of 567 blocks for the year. The man protecting the net for Vancouver is Jacob Markstrom from Gavle, Sweden. He is 30 years old and has played a total of 1,774 minutes defending the goal this season. Markstrom is allowing an average of 2.81 goals against average which has him placed 12th among Western Conference goaltenders and 25th among goaltenders in the NHL. For the season, he's allowed 83 goals. His save % is .914 which has him placed 12th among Western Conference goaltenders.

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The Vancouver Canucks will look to clean up some issues after taking a 5 - 2 defeat against the Florida Panthers the last time they stepped on the ice. The Canucks could have played much better offensively in the loss. While out there on the ice, they scored on 2 out of the 32 shots they put on net. In addition, they had 3 power play chances but weren't able to net one. Vancouver racked up 18 penalty mins for this game. The Corsi for the Canucks sat at 42 and the Corsi against at even strength was 56 giving them a Corsi percentage of 42.9%. Their Fenwick was 35 and the Fenwick against sat at 44, giving them a rate of 44.3%. They took 25 face-off wins and lost 30 of all total face-offs. Their offensive zone starts came in at 49.8% and they had a PDO of 97.7 for this game. In discussing stats from the opponent, the Florida Panthers tallied a total of 49 shots. They ended the game with 6 penalty minutes and they tallied 4 power play chances.

The Sabres will be on the other side of the ice and for the year they sit with 19 victories and 18 losses. In connection with goal differential, they are sitting 13th in the East and 23rd in the league with -12. They have a total of 127 goals for the year which ranks 11th in the East. Buffalo has a team save % of .899 which currently has them ranked 21st in the league, which means scoring chances could be plentiful if they attack the goal. They have a team shooting percentage of 9.7% which is good for 8th in the East. In goal for Buffalo is Linus Ullmark who is having a marginal season by allowing 2.87 goals per contest and that has him ranked 14th in the East and 29th among goaltenders in the NHL. In the 1,672 minutes he's been on the ice, he's allowed 80 goals. He holds a save % of .910, which has him sitting 13th in the East and 29th among goaltenders in the NHL.

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The Buffalo Sabres faced off against the St. Louis Blues in a game where the Sabres took a loss by a tally of 5 - 1. For this game, Buffalo had a 44.0% Corsi rating. They got to that percentage by earning a Corsi of 33 and the team opposite of them having a Corsi of 42. Their Fenwick percentage was 46.8% by way of having a Fenwick of 29 and the Blues earning a 33 Fenwick. This Corsi rating tells us the kind of game Buffalo played and the stats tell us that they didn't play well overall. Their PDO at even strength was 91.3 and they earned an oZS percentage of 49.5%. The Sabres notched 1 goal out of the 19 shots on goal they pursued. They had 1 power play chance in this one but were not able to net one. In discussing their opponent, the Blues had 1 power play chance and were able to tally 1 goal. Buffalo conceded 31 shots on goal and the Blues racked up a total of 4 penalty mins.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Vancouver (+104)

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