Boston Bruins vs Buffalo Sabres Prediction, 3/18/2021 NHL Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Boston Bruins vs Buffalo Sabres

Date: Thursday, March 18, 2021

Location: KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Bruins (-225) Sabres (+185)

Jaroslav Halak and the Boston Bruins (15-8-4) go to KeyBank Center on Thursday where they'll take on the Buffalo Sabres (6-18-4). The Sabres open this game at +185 while the Bruins are coming in at -225. The total opens at 6.5.

The Bruins went home feeling good about their game by earning a 2-1 victory over the Penguins in their last outing. The Corsi for the Bruins was sitting at 50 and the Corsi against at the end of this game was 39 meaning they had a Corsi percentage of 56.2%. Their offensive zone starts were rated at 48.1% and their PDO was 100.3 for this one. Boston had 21 minutes in the box in this game. The Bruins didn't have their best offensive outing in this victory. Their Fenwick came in at 37 and the Fenwick Against sat at 32, giving them a Fenwick percentage of 53.6%. They had 24 face-off wins at even strength and were beaten on 18 attempts to win the face-off. Moreover, they had 4 power play opportunities and scored 1 goal. In the game, they scored on 2 of the 33 shots they put on goal.

When talking about their scoring, the Boston Bruins have racked up 71 goals (24th in hockey) on the season and have allowed 63. For the current season, they have recorded 34 points and their points percentage is .630. Boston has accounted for 79 power play opportunities and they have notched 19 goals during those advantages, garnering them a percentage of 24.05%. When at even strength, the Bruins have conceded 53 goals while scoring 52 on offense. Boston has tried 848 shots and has a shooting percentage of 8.4%. The Bruins have had 726 shots attempted against them and have a save percentage of .913. Boston Bruins opponents have earned 93 power play tries (12th in professional hockey) and have racked up 10 goals in those attempts.

The man in net for this game is Jaroslav Halak. Halak has participated in 532 games over the course of his professional hockey career. He has earned an overall record of 278-171-60 and he has started in 496 games. The opposition has scored 1,265 goals versus Halak in his pro career and his goals against average is 2.47. Halak has had 15,151 shots against him and has recorded 13,886 saves. His save percentage currently is .917 in his 30,688 mins played. In his career, Halak has earned 281 quality starts and his quality starts percentage is at .567.

In their last game, Buffalo faced the Devils in an outing where the Sabres took a loss by a score of 3-2. Buffalo wound up with a 50.6% Corsi rate. This Corsi rating is telling of the kind of game that Buffalo had and you might say they will look for a better outcome in their next outing. Their Fenwick percentage was 52.0% with a Fenwick of 39 and the Devils having accrued a 36 Fenwick. Their PDO at even strength was 98 and they earned an oZS percentage of 58.4%. The Sabres netted 2 goals out of the 35 shots on goal they took. They had 2 chances on the power play in this one but weren't able to notch a goal.

On the season, the Buffalo Sabres are sitting with 58 goals, 16 points, as well as a points percentage of .286. They have allowed 95 goals to be scored by way of 82 goals at even strength and 13 goals while they had less men on the ice. The Sabres have earned 39 goals at even strength and 19 goals (17th in the league) while on the power play. They have a total of 73 opportunities on the power play and they have a power play percentage of 26.03%. Buffalo has attempted 786 shots (25th in the NHL) and has earned a shooting percentage of 7.38%, while allowing their opponents 861 shots. They have a penalty kill rate of 79.69% on their opponents 64 tries on the power play, and their save percentage currently comes in at 89.0%.

Across the ice you are likely to see Carter Hutton in net. Hutton is the owner of a lifetime mark of 94-87-27 and has participated in 230 contests. Hutton's quality start rate comes out to 50.5% and he has accumulated 102 quality starts in his pro career. He has recorded 5,621 saves out of the 6,182 shots attempted against him, giving him a save % of .909. Opponents are averaging 2.71 goals/game and he has conceded 561 goals in total. He has been a starter 202 games and has played 12,429 mins.

Who will win tonight's NHL game ATS?

Guy's Pick: Take Buffalo (+185)

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here