Buffalo Sabres vs Carolina Hurricanes Prediction, 12/4/2021 NHL Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Buffalo Sabres vs Carolina Hurricanes

Date: Saturday, December 4, 2021

Location: PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC

TV: Bally Sports South

Odds/Point Spread: Sabres (+215) Hurricanes (-275)

Dustin Tokarski and the Buffalo Sabres (8-12-3) go to PNC Arena on Saturday where they'll meet the Carolina Hurricanes (15-6-1). The Hurricanes open this contest at -275 while the Sabres are coming in at +215. The total has been set at 5.5.

The Sabres will look for better times on the ice after their 7-4 loss against the Panthers in their previous contest. The Corsi for the Sabres came in at 38 and the Corsi against at the end of this game was 60 meaning they had a Corsi rate of 38.8%. When starting in the offensive zone they came in at 41.7% and their PDO was 102.8 for this game. Buffalo amassed 8 penalty mins in this outing. The Sabres had a good offensive outing in the defeat. Their Fenwick came in at 27 and the Fenwick against finished at 43, meaning they had a Fenwick percentage of 38.6%. They compiled 26 face-off wins at even strength and lost on 21 attempts to take control of the puck. Additionally, they had 3 power play chances but didn't convert them into a score. For the outing, they scored on 4 out of the 31 shots they put on goal.

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Buffalo Sabres opponents have tallied 60 power play opportunities (24th in the NHL) and have a total of 13 goals in those chances. The Sabres have had 782 shots attempted against them and have a save percentage of .893. Buffalo has tried 670 shots and has a shot percentage of 10.0%. When at even strength, the Sabres let the opposition score 71 goals while notching 55 themselves. Buffalo comes into the game with 60 power play opportunities and they have tallied 12 goals during those chances, giving them a percentage of 20.00%. For the current campaign, they have earned 19 points and their points percentage sits at .413. In terms of their scoring, the Buffalo Sabres have earned 67 goals (15th in pro hockey) on the season and have allowed 84.

The player in the crease for this game is Dustin Tokarski. Opponents have racked up 165 goals against Tokarski in his pro hockey career and his goals against average per game is 3.10. Tokarski has played in 61 matchups throughout his NHL career. His save percentage currently sits at .904 in his 3,189 minutes played. He has compiled a win-loss record of 16-25-10 and he has started in 50 games. From the beginning of his pro career to now, Tokarski has accumulated 23 quality starts and his rate for quality starts is .460. Tokarski has seen 1,717 shot attempts taken against him and has accrued 1,552 total saves.

In their last game, Carolina faced off against the Senators in a game where the Hurricanes took the loss by a mark of 3-2. Their PDO at even strength was 86 and their oZS percentage was 78.7%. They had 4 chances on the power play in this outing and scored 1 goal out of those tries. Their Fenwick percentage came in at 59.7% by way of having a Fenwick of 46 and the Senators having earned a 31 Fenwick. The Hurricanes earned 2 goals out of the 49 shots on goal they pursued. Carolina earned a 60.6% Corsi rate. These Corsi stats speak to the kind of game that Carolina played and we're sure they will look for better performances in the future.

On the year, the Carolina Hurricanes have notched a total of 69 goals, 31 points, as well as a points percentage of .705. They have granted a total of 50 goals to be scored by of a combination of 40 goals at even strength and 10 goals while they had less men on the ice. The Hurricanes have earned 55 goals at even strength and 14 goals (12th in hockey) while on the power play. They have recorded 74 power play opportunities and they have accumulated a power play percentage of 18.92%. Carolina has taken 741 shots (11th in professional hockey) and has accumulated a shooting percentage of 9.31%, while allowing the opposition 600 shots. They have a penalty kill rate of 88.10% on the other teams 84 power play chances, and their save percentage comes in at 91.7%.

On the other side of the ice you are going to see Frederik Andersen defending the net. He has recorded 11,187 saves out of the 12,216 shots attempted against him, giving him a save % of .916. Andersen has a lifetime record of 237-105-48 and has been in goal for 409 games. He has started in 397 games and has played 23,539 minutes. Andersen's quality start rate is 56.9% and he has qualified for 226 quality starts in his pro career. His opponents are averaging 2.62 goals per game and he has yielded 1,029 goals altogether.

Who will win tonight's NHL game ATS?

Josh's Pick: Take Carolina (-275)

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