Buffalo Sabres vs Pittsburgh Penguins Prediction, 5/8/2021 NHL Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Buffalo Sabres vs Pittsburgh Penguins

Date: Saturday, May 8, 2021

Location: PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: NBC

Odds/Point Spread: Sabres (+345) Penguins (-430)

Tristan Jarry and the Pittsburgh Penguins (36-16-3) play the Buffalo Sabres (15-33-7) at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday. The odds on this matchup have the Sabres priced at +345 and the Penguins are at -430. The O/U is set at 5.5.

The Sabres will look to clean up some issues after taking a 8-4 loss against the Penguins their last time on the ice. The Corsi for the Sabres was sitting at 28 and the Corsi against at the end of this game was 48 which means they had a Corsi rate of 36.8%. Their starts in the offensive zone were at 48.1% and their PDO rating was 96.9 for this one. Buffalo amassed 4 penalty minutes in this outing. The Sabres had a impressive offensive performance in this loss. Their Fenwick was 21 and the Fenwick Against sat at 38, giving them a Fenwick percentage of 35.6%. They accrued 20 face-off wins at even strength and were beaten on 25 attempts to win the face-off. In addition, they had 2 power play chances and were able to notch 1 goal. For the game, they converted 4 of the 23 shots they launched.

The Sabres have had 1,866 shots attempted against them and are the owners of a save percentage of .895. While playing at even strength, the Sabres have allowed the opponent to score 164 goals while having 104 on offense. Buffalo Sabres opponents have totaled 137 power play opportunities (28th in pro hockey) and have notched 31 goals in those chances. For the current campaign, they have 37 points and their points percentage sits at .336. Buffalo has taken 1,563 shots and holds a shooting percentage of 8.6%. With regard to their goal scoring prowess, the Buffalo Sabres have racked up 134 goals (26th in hockey) on the year and have given up 195. Buffalo comes into the game with 142 power play opportunities and they have tallied 30 goals out of those attempts, garnering them a percentage of 21.13%.

Protecting the goal for this matchup will be Michael Houser. From the beginning of his pro career to now, Houser has compiled 2 quality starts and his percentage for quality starts is .667. His save percentage is at .890 in his 185 minutes between the pipes. Houser has had 118 shot attempts against him and he has 105 saves. Opponents have been able to score 13 goals against Houser in his pro hockey career and his goals against rate is 4.22. He has an overall record of 2-1-0 and he started in 3 games. Houser has participated in 3 contests over the course of his hockey career.

In their win over Buffalo, Pittsburgh had a PDO at even strength of 103 and their oZS percentage was 51.9%. They had 1 power play opportunity in this contest and converted 1 on that try. Their Fenwick percentage came in at 64.4% by compiling a Fenwick of 38 and the Sabres having a 21 Fenwick at even strength. The Penguins tallied 8 goals out of the 34 shots on goal they attempted. Pittsburgh went home with a 63.2% Corsi rate. These Corsi stats speak to the kind of game that Pittsburgh played and they looked like the better team in this game.

Over the course of the season, the Pittsburgh Penguins have accounted for 192 goals, 75 points, in addition to a points percentage of .682. They have permitted 155 goals to be scored by way of 120 goals at even strength and 35 goals while they had less men on the ice. The Penguins are sitting with 156 goals at even strength and 36 goals (10th in pro hockey) while on the power play. They have a total of 150 power play opportunities and they have earned a power play rate of 24.00%. Pittsburgh has taken 1,661 shots (7th in hockey) and has a shot percentage of 11.56%, while allowing the opposition 1,650 shots. They have recorded a penalty kill rate of 77.27% on their opponents 154 power play opportunities, and their save percentage is currently 90.6%.

For the opposition you will find Tristan Jarry protecting the net. His opponents are averaging 2.66 goals per game and he has surrendered 251 goals in total. Jarry's quality start percentage sits at 61.1% and he has earned 58 quality starting assignments in his pro career. He has started in 95 games and has played 5,654 mins. Jarry has compiled a lifetime record of 59-29-7 and has been in net for 101 contests. He has gathered 2,608 saves out of 2,859 shots tried, giving him a rate of .912.

Who will win tonight's NHL game ATS?

Guy's Pick: Take Pittsburgh (-430)

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