Pittsburgh Penguins vs Buffalo Sabres Predictions, NHL Picks 3/5/2020

Game: Pittsburgh Penguins vs Buffalo Sabres

Date: Thursday, March 5, 2020

Location: KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY

TV: MSGB/ATTP

Odds/Point Spread: Penguins (-165) Sabres (+149)

Total/Over-Under: 6

Tristan Jarry and the Pittsburgh Penguins (38-21-6, 3rd in the Metropolitan Division) head to KeyBank Center on Thursday where they'll meet the Buffalo Sabres (29-29-8, 6th in the Atlantic Division). The Sabres open this contest at +149 while the Penguins are coming in at -165. The over/under is set at 6. The Penguins are covering 56.5% of the time, having gone 35-27 SU. The Sabres are covering 43.1% of the time, going 28-37 straight up.

The Pittsburgh Penguins step onto the ice holding a record of 38 wins and 21 defeats, which is good for 3rd in the Metropolitan Division. During the year thus far, they have converted a total of 208 goals which ranks them 8th in the East and 13th in the league. Their goal differential is +27, which is good for 6th in the league. The Penguins have earned a total of 82 pts, which ranks them 7th in the league and 5th in the conference. Regarding shots on goal, they have earned a total of 2,081 which ranks them 8th in the East and 16th in the league. As a team, Pittsburgh currently has a total of 1,694 hits which means they have an average of 26.1 per game. They have earned a total of 736 blocks for this season. Protecting the goal for Pittsburgh is Tristan Jarry from Surrey, British Columbia. He is 24 years old and has played a total of 1,866 minutes defending the goal for the campaign. Jarry is conceding 2.31 goals per game which has him ranked 3rd in the Eastern Conference and 6th among goaltenders in the NHL. For the season, he's allowed 72 goals. His save % is .924 which has him ranked 4th in the Eastern Conference.

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The Pittsburgh Penguins went home feeling good about their game by earning a 7 - 3 victory against the Ottawa Senators in their previous game. The Penguins had a good offensive performance and it was apparent in the victory. For this game, they finished 7 of the 35 shots they put on goal. Moreover, they had 5 power play attempts and were able to net 1 goal out of those opportunities. Pittsburgh earned a total of 8 penalty mins in this matchup. The Corsi for the Penguins was 50 and the Corsi against was 39 telling us they have a Corsi percentage of 56.2%. Their Fenwick was 37 and the Fenwick against was 27, which means they had a rate of 57.8%. They took 30 face-off wins and were beaten on 31 tries to control the puck. Their starts in the offensive zone came in at 62.5% and they had a PDO at even strength of 105.7 in this game. In terms of their opponent's stats, the Ottawa Senators tallied a total of 26 shots. They ended the game with 10 penalty mins and they notched 4 power play opportunities.

The Sabres are the team looking to add points to their total and for the season they sit with 29 wins and 29 losses. When talking about goal differential, they are currently ranked 13th in the East and 25th in the league with -18. They have compiled a total of 188 goals for the year which is 11th in the conference. Buffalo has a save % as a team of .900 which currently has them ranked 21st in the league, meaning scoring chances could present themselves. They have a team shooting percentage of 9.8% which is good for 9th in the East. In goal for Buffalo is Carter Hutton who is having a bad year by giving up 3.18 goals per contest and that has him 27th among Eastern Conference goalies and 57th among goalies in the NHL. In the 1,718 minutes he's played this season, he's allowed 91 goals. He holds a save % of .898, which has him ranking 29th among Eastern Conference goalies and 57th among goalies in the NHL.

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The Buffalo Sabres opposed the Winnipeg Jets in an outing where the Sabres ended up losing by a final of 3 - 1. For this outing, Buffalo had a 51.5% Corsi rating. They wound up with that percentage by having a Corsi of 51 while their opponent earned a Corsi of 48. They earned a Fenwick percentage of 47.6% by way of having a Fenwick of 39 and the Jets having earned a 43 Fenwick at even strength. These Corsi statistics are telling of the type of game that Buffalo had and we'd say it was a below average outing in all. They had a PDO at even strength of 101.3 and their oZS percentage was 48.0%. The Sabres notched 1 goal out of the 26 shots on goal they took. They had 2 power play opportunities in this one but weren't able to score a goal. In discussing their opponent, the Jets had 3 power play opportunities and took advantage of the situation by scoring 1 goal. Buffalo gave way to 35 shots on goal and the Jets ended up with a total of 4 minutes in the box.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Pittsburgh (-165)

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