Boston Bruins vs Buffalo Sabres Prediction, 4/23/2021 NHL Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Boston Bruins vs Buffalo Sabres

Date: Friday, April 23, 2021

Location: KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Bruins (-300) Sabres (+250)

KeyBank Center is the venue where Dustin Tokarski and the Buffalo Sabres (12-27-7) will take on the Boston Bruins (26-12-6) on Friday. The Bruins open this matchup at -300 while the Sabres are coming in at +250. The total opens at 5.5.

The Bruins had a good night with a 2-0 victory over the Sabres in their previous contest. The Corsi for the Bruins was sitting at 58 and the Corsi against when this game finished was 42 which had their Corsi rate coming in at 58.0%. Their offensive zone starts came in at 41.8% and their PDO rating was 105.9 in this one. Boston had 8 mins in the box in this contest. The Bruins left a lot to be desired in terms of their offense in the win. Their Fenwick was 43 and the Fenwick Against sat at 32, giving them a Fenwick percentage of 57.3%. They totaled 26 face-off wins at even strength and lost on 16 attempts to take control of the puck. Moreover, they had 4 power play opportunities but didn't net one. For the outing, they scored on 2 out of the 41 shots they put on net.

When it comes to their scoring capabilities, the Boston Bruins have accounted for 123 goals (20th in pro hockey) for the year and have given up 108. For the year, they have accumulated 58 points and their points % is .659. Boston has 136 power play opportunities and they have added 29 goals during those advantages, garnering them a percentage of 21.32%. At even strength, the Bruins let the opposition score 87 goals while scoring 94 on the offensive side of the ice. Boston has attempted 1,430 shots and has a shooting percentage of 8.6%. The Bruins have had 1,218 shots attempted against them and have a save percentage of .911. Boston Bruins opponents have totaled 153 power play opportunities (1st in professional hockey) and have a total of 21 goals in those attempts.

The player guarding the cage in this matchup is Jaroslav Halak. The opposition has scored 1,280 goals against Halak in his professional career and his goals against average is 2.48. Halak has been involved in 537 games during his pro hockey career. His save percentage sits at .916 in his 30,972 minutes in the crease. He has earned a win-loss record of 281-172-61 and he started in 500 games. During his career on the ice, Halak has accumulated 283 quality starts and his rate for quality starts is .566. Halak has had 15,288 shots against him and has recorded 14,008 saves.

In their loss to Boston, Buffalo had 6 power play attempts in this contest but weren't able to notch a goal. The Sabres recorded 0 goals of the 32 shots on goal they pursued. Their PDO was 94 and they finished the game with an oZS percentage of 58.2%. Buffalo had a 42.0% Corsi rate. These Corsi statistics are telling of the type of game that Buffalo played and you could say that they have had better days on the ice. Their Fenwick rate came in at 42.7% by way of having a Fenwick of 32 and the Bruins having racked up a 43 Fenwick at even strength.

The Sabres have 84 goals at even strength and 24 goals (23rd in hockey) while having more men on the ice. Buffalo has tried 1,284 shots (26th in pro hockey) and has accumulated a shot percentage of 8.41%, while allowing the opposition 1,517 shots. On the year, the Buffalo Sabres have notched a total of 108 goals, 31 points, in addition to a points percentage of .337. They have a total of 118 power play chances and they have a power play rate of 20.34%. They have recorded a penalty kill percentage of 78.99% on their opponents 119 power play opportunities, and their save percentage currently comes in at 89.9%. They have permitted 153 goals to be scored by way of 128 goals at even strength and 25 goals while they were shorthanded.

Across the rink you are likely to see Dustin Tokarski in net. Tokarski has earned a career record of 12-18-7 and has been in goal for 44 games. Tokarski's percentage of quality starts sits at 48.6% and he has made 17 quality starts in his career. He has gathered 1,094 stops out of 1,204 shots attempted, giving him a rate of .909. His opposition is averaging 2.89 goals per game and he has given up 110 goals in total. He has made the start in 35 contests and has played for a total of 2,283 mins.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Boston (-300)

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