Sabres vs Blues Predictions, Picks, Tips 1/9/2020

Game: Buffalo Sabres vs St. Louis Blues

Date: Thursday, January 9, 2020

Location: Enterprise Center in St. Louis, MO

TV: MSGB/FSMW

Odds/Point Spread: Sabres (+180) Blues (-201)

Total/Over-Under: 5.5

Jordan Binnington and the St. Louis Blues (27-10-7, 1st in the Central Division) host the Buffalo Sabres (19-17-7, 5th in the Atlantic Division) at Enterprise Center on Thursday, January 9, 2020. The moneyline on this game has the Sabres priced at +180 and the Blues are at -201. The over/under is set at 5.5. The Sabres are covering 42.9% of the time, having gone 18-24 SU. The Blues are covering 61.4% of the time, going 27-17 straight up.

The Buffalo Sabres head into this game holding a record of 19 wins and 17 losses, which is good for 5th in the Atlantic Division. Thus far in the season, they have racked up a total of 126 goals which is good for 11th in the East and 20th in the NHL. Their goal differential is -8, which is good for 22nd in the NHL. The Sabres have earned a total of 45 pts, which is good for 21st in the NHL and 11th in the conference. In connection with shots at the opposition, they have earned a total of 1,295 which is good for 12th in the Eastern Conference and 24th in the NHL. As a unit, Buffalo has obtained a total of 749 hits which means they are averaging 17.4 per game. They have earned a total of 402 blocks for this season. The man protecting the goal for Buffalo is Linus Ullmark from Elmhurst, Illinois. He is 26 years old and has been on the ice a total of 1,612 minutes in net this season. Ullmark is giving up an average of 2.83 goals per game which has him ranking 14th among Eastern Conference goaltenders and 26th among goalies in the NHL. During this year, he's surrendered 76 goals. He has a save % of .911 which has him ranking 11th among Eastern Conference goaltenders.

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The Buffalo Sabres were on the winning side of the scoreboard with a 3 - 2 win against the Florida Panthers in their last game. The Sabres had an average offensive outing in the win. In this outing, they earned a goal on 3 out of the 18 shots they tried. In addition, they had 3 power play opportunities and were able to net 1 goal out of those attempts. Buffalo earned a total of 8 penalty minutes in this outing. The Corsi for the Sabres sat at 29 and the Corsi against at even strength was 50 meaning they had a Corsi percentage of 36.7%. Their Fenwick was 20 and the Fenwick against sat at 38, which tells us they had a Fenwick percentage of 34.5%. They earned 22 face-off wins at even strength and lost 22 tries to control the puck. Their starts in the offensive zone were rated at 29.2% and they had a PDO of 106.4 for this one. Concerning opponent stats, the Florida Panthers tallied a total of 34 shots. They ended the game with 8 penalty minutes and they tallied 3 power play opportunities.

The Blues will be looking to add points to their total and for the campaign they sit with 27 wins and 10 defeats. With reference to goal differential, they sit 2nd in the West and 7th in the league with +20. They have earned a total of 138 goals for this year which puts them at 5th in the Western Conference. St. Louis has a save % as a team of .914 which has them ranked 5th in the league, which means chances to score may be limited. They have a shooting percentage of 10.4% putting them at 3rd in the Western Conference. In net for St. Louis is Jordan Binnington who is having an average campaign by allowing 2.53 goals against average and that ranks him 7th among Western Conference goaltenders and 14th in the NHL. In the 1,823 minutes he's been on the ice this year, he's surrendered 77 goals. He's earned a save percentage of .917, which ranks him 10th among Western Conference goaltenders and 17th in the NHL.

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The St. Louis Blues played the San Jose Sharks in a matchup where the Blues earned a win by a final of 3 - 2. For this matchup, St. Louis earned a 52.2% Corsi rating. They earned that percentage by having a Corsi of 47 while their opponent had a Corsi of 43. Their Fenwick percentage came in at 50.0% with a Fenwick of 33 and the Sharks earning a 33 Fenwick at even strength. This Corsi percentage speaks to the kind of game that St. Louis played and we'd say they played an average game. They had a PDO at even strength of 111.1 and they finished this one with an oZS percentage of 55.9%. The Blues notched 3 goals of the 27 shots on goal they attempted. They had 3 power play opportunities in this one but didn't put one in the back of the net. Concerning their opponent, the Sharks had 1 power play attempt and used that advantage to score 1 goal. St. Louis gave way to 29 shots on goal and the Sharks ended up with 6 penalty mins.

Who will win tonight's NHL game ATS?

Josh's Pick: Take Buffalo (+180)

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