Washington Capitals vs Buffalo Sabres Predictions, NHL Picks 3/9/2020

Game: Washington Capitals vs Buffalo Sabres

Date: Monday, March 9, 2020

Location: KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY

TV: MSGB/NSWA

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

Total/Over-Under: 6.5

Carter Hutton and the Buffalo Sabres (29-31-8, 6th in the Atlantic Division) host the Washington Capitals (41-20-7, 1st in the Metropolitan Division) at KeyBank Center on Monday, March 9, 2020. The moneyline on this game has the Capitals coming in at -165 and the Sabres are at +149. The O/U has been set at 6.5. The Capitals cover 57.8% of the time, having gone 37-27 SU. The Sabres cover 41.8% of the time, going 28-39 straight up.

The Washington Capitals head into this game holding a record of 41 victories and 20 defeats, ranking them 1st in the Metropolitan Division. During the year thus far, they have racked up a total of 234 goals which is good for 3rd in the conference and 3rd in the NHL. Their goal differential is +24, ranking them 7th in the NHL. The Capitals have a total of 89 pts, which is good for 4th in the NHL and 3rd in the East. In the matter of shots at the opposing goalie, they have a total of 2,171 which is good for 7th in the East and 13th in the NHL. As a group, Washington has earned a total of 1,593 hits which means they have an average of 23.4 per contest. They have a total of 745 blocks for the season. In net for Washington is Braden Holtby from Lloydminster, Saskatchewan. He is 30 years old and has been on the ice a total of 2,678 minutes in net for the season. Holtby is allowing 3.14 GAA which has him placed 25th in the Eastern Conference and 53rd in the NHL among goaltenders. For the year, he has given up 140 goals. He has a save percentage of .897 which has him placed 30th in the Eastern Conference.

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The Washington Capitals had a good night with a 5 - 2 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins their last time out. The Capitals had a solid offensive outing in this victory. In this outing, they netted 5 out of the 28 shots they tried. Additionally, they had 1 power play opportunity but weren't able to score. Washington racked up a total of 14 penalty mins for this matchup. The Corsi for the Capitals was 43 and the Corsi against at even strength was 45 telling us they have a Corsi percentage of 48.9%. Their Fenwick was 33 while the Fenwick against at even strength was 33, which means they earned a rate of 50.0%. They took 20 face-off wins at even strength and lost 20 tries to control the puck. The offensive zone starts for them were rated at 13.0% and they had a PDO of 112.5 in this one. Concerning opponent stats, the Pittsburgh Penguins racked up 28 shots. They finished with 6 minutes in the box and they tallied 5 power play chances.

The Sabres are the team on the other side of the ice and for the current year they sit with 29 victories and 31 defeats. When talking about goal differential, they are currently ranked 13th in the Eastern Conference and 25th in the NHL with -22. They have earned a total of 191 goals for this year which has them ranked at 11th in the conference. Buffalo has a save percentage as a team of .899 which has them 26th in the NHL, meaning there could be plenty of chances to score if they attack the goal. They are shooting 9.6% ranking them 9th in the conference. In net for Buffalo is Carter Hutton who is having a rough year by allowing 3.18 goals per contest and that has him 27th in the Eastern Conference and 57th in the NHL among goalies. In the 1,775 minutes he has been on the ice this year, he's allowed 94 goals. He's earned a save percentage of .898, which ranks him 29th in the Eastern Conference and 57th in the NHL among goalies.

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The Buffalo Sabres played the Philadelphia Flyers in a matchup where the Sabres went home in defeat by a final score of 3 - 1. In this outing, Buffalo went home with a 63.8% Corsi rating. They earned that percentage by having a Corsi of 51 while the opposition earned a Corsi of 29. They earned a Fenwick percentage of 60.3% with a Fenwick of 35 and the Flyers finishing with a 23 Fenwick at even strength. This Corsi percentage speaks to the kind of game that Buffalo had and it could be said that this team has had better games. Their PDO at even strength was 86.8 and their oZS percentage was 28.6%. The Sabres netted 1 goal of the 39 shots on goal they tried. They had 4 power play opportunities in this outing but didn't put one in the back of the net. Concerning the opposition, the Flyers had 3 power play chances but weren't able to put the puck in the net. Buffalo gave up 24 shots on goal and the Flyers racked up 8 penalty mins.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Washington (-165)

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