Buffalo Sabres vs Boston Bruins Prediction, 4/29/2021 NHL Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Buffalo Sabres vs Boston Bruins

Date: Thursday, April 29, 2021

Location: TD Garden in Boston, MA

TV: MSG-B

Odds/Point Spread: Sabres (+290) Bruins (-350)

Jeremy Swayman and the Boston Bruins (28-14-6) host the Buffalo Sabres (13-30-7) at TD Garden on Thursday. The Bruins open this matchup at -350 while the Sabres are priced at +290. The O/U opens at 5.5.

The Sabres will need a bounce back game after taking a 3-1 loss to the Rangers in their last game. Their starts in the offensive zone were rated at 47.1% and they had a PDO of 93.9 in this one. They tallied 24 face-off wins at even strength and were beaten on 22 opportunities to win the puck. Their Fenwick was 43 and the Fenwick against finished at 42, meaning they had a Fenwick percentage of 50.6%. The Corsi for the Sabres came in at 57 and the Corsi against when this game finished was 48 which had their Corsi rate coming in at 54.3%. Buffalo amassed 9 penalty minutes in this contest. They also had 2 power play tries and were able to net 1 goal. The Sabres didn't have their best offensive outing in the loss. For the game, they finished 1 out of the 37 shots they put on goal.

In relation to scoring goals, the Buffalo Sabres have earned 119 goals (28th in the National Hockey League) this year and have surrendered 171. For the current season, they have 33 points and their points percentage is sitting at .330. Buffalo has accounted for 132 power play chances and they have notched 28 goals out of those attempts, giving them a percentage of 21.21%. While playing at even strength, the Sabres let the opposition score 143 goals while earning 91 on offense. Buffalo has attempted 1,419 shots and is the owner of a shooting percentage of 8.4%. The Sabres have had 1,665 shots tried against them and have a save percentage of .897. Buffalo Sabres opponents have earned 128 power play tries (27th in the NHL) and have come away with 28 goals in those attempts.

The man protecting the net in this game is Dustin Tokarski. Tokarski has participated in 46 matchups over the course of his hockey career. He has amassed a win-loss mark of 12-20-7 and he was named the starter in 37 games. The opposition has racked up 120 goals versus Tokarski in his professional hockey career and his goals against average is 3.00. Tokarski has had 1,270 shots taken against him and has recorded 1,150 total saves. His save percentage is .906 for his 2,401 mins played. For his career, Tokarski is sitting with 17 quality starts and his percentage for quality starts is .459.

When they were on the ice last, Boston faced the Penguins in a game where the Bruins notched a victory by a score of 3-1. They had a PDO at even strength of 105 and their percentage of oZS was 41.0%. They had 1 attempt on the power play in this outing but weren't able to notch a goal. Their Fenwick percentage was 61.3% with a Fenwick of 38 and the Penguins having a 24 Fenwick. The Bruins netted 3 goals of the 31 shots on goal they were seeking. Boston earned a 53.6% Corsi rating. These Corsi stats tell us the story of the kind of game Boston had and you could say that they didn't play great, but weren't awful either.

Boston has tried 1,569 shots (4th in professional hockey) and has earned a shooting percentage of 8.60%, while allowing the opposition 1,337 shots. They have a penalty kill rate of 86.06% on the other teams 165 power play opportunities, and their save percentage is 91.2%. They have a total of 140 power play chances and they have earned a power play rate of 20.71%. The Bruins are sitting with 106 goals at even strength and 29 goals (16th in hockey) while on the power play. They have permitted 117 goals to be scored by of a combination of 94 goals at even strength and 23 goals while they had less men on the ice. For the year, the Boston Bruins have 135 goals, 62 points, and a points percentage of .646.

Across the rink you will find Jeremy Swayman in net. The opposition is averaging 1.57 goals per game and he has conceded 11 goals overall. Swayman's quality start rate is 85.7% and he has 6 quality starts in his pro career. He has been a starter 7 games and has racked up 422 mins. Swayman has accrued a lifetime record of 5-2-0 and has participated in 7 games. He has a tally of 194 saves out of 205 shots attempted against him, which gives him a save percentage of .946.

Who will win tonight's NHL game ATS?

Guy's Pick: Take Boston (-350)

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