Buffalo Sabres vs Minnesota Wild Prediction, 12/16/2021 NHL Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Buffalo Sabres vs Minnesota Wild

Date: Thursday, December 16, 2021

Location: Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, MN

TV: Bally Sports North

Cam Talbot and the Minnesota Wild (19-8-1) play the Buffalo Sabres (9-15-4) at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday.

The Buffalo Sabres were on the right side of the scoreboard with a 4-2 victory over the Jets their last time on the ice. Buffalo tallied 4 minutes in the box in this matchup. The Sabres had a good offensive output in the win. Moreover, they had 2 opportunities with more players on the ice and were able to score 1 goal. In the game, they scored on 4 of the 27 shots they put on goal.

The Sabres have had 943 shots taken against them and have a save percentage of .896. At even strength, the Sabres have allowed the opponent to score 84 goals while having 62 of their own. Buffalo Sabres opponents have recorded 69 power play opportunities (28th in professional hockey) and have a total of 14 goals in those attempts. For the year, they have recorded 22 points and their points percentage sits at .393. Buffalo has taken 824 shots and holds a shot percentage of 9.2%. In reference to their scoring capabilities, the Buffalo Sabres have earned 76 goals (21st in the league) so far this year and have given up 98. Buffalo has tallied 71 power play opportunities and they have notched 14 goals out of those advantages, garnering them a percentage of 19.72%.

The player protecting the goal in this game is Aaron Dell. The opposition has notched 308 goals against Dell in his NHL career and his goals against average per game is 2.90. Dell has been involved in 121 games during his NHL career. He has a save percentage of .904 during his 6,375 minutes played. He has compiled an overall record of 49-44-12 and he started in 98 games. Throughout his time in hockey, Dell has 45 quality starts and his rate for quality starts is .459. Dell has seen 3,217 shots against him and he has 2,909 total saves.

The last time they were on the ice, Minnesota went up against the Golden Knights in a matchup where the Wild ended up losing by a tally of 6-4. They had 6 power play opportunities in this matchup and scored 1 goal out of those chances. The Wild notched 4 goals out of the 27 shots on goal they attempted.

Minnesota has attempted 931 shots (10th in pro hockey) and has a shooting percentage of 11.06%, while allowing their opponents 889 shots. They have recorded a penalty kill rate of 81.00% on their opponents 100 power play opportunities, and their save percentage sits at 90.9%. They have a total of 92 power play chances and they have a power play percentage of 17.39%. The Wild have tallied 87 goals at even strength and 16 goals (17th in hockey) while having more men on the ice. They have allowed 81 goals to be scored by of a combination of 62 goals at even strength and 19 goals while they had less men on the ice. For the year, the Minnesota Wild have 103 goals, 39 points, in addition to a points percentage of .696.

For the opposition you will find Cam Talbot between the pipes. His opponents are averaging 2.61 goals/game and he has surrendered 920 goals altogether. Talbot's rate of quality starts comes out to 53.1% and he has accumulated 188 quality starts in his pro career. He has started in 354 games and has been on the ice for 21,117 mins. Talbot is sitting with a career mark of 184-136-30 and has played in 368 contests. He has tallied 9,949 saves out of 10,869 shots attempted, giving him a rate of .915.

Who will win tonight's NHL game ATS?

Tony's Pick: Take Minnesota

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