Buffalo Sabres vs Washington Capitals Prediction, 4/15/2021 NHL Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Buffalo Sabres vs Washington Capitals

Date: Thursday, April 15, 2021

Location: Capital One Arena in Washington, DC

TV: MSG-B

Odds/Point Spread: Sabres (+333) Capitals (-450)

Capital One Arena is the site where Ilya Samsonov and the Washington Capitals (28-11-4) will take on the Buffalo Sabres (10-25-7) on Thursday. The Capitals open this contest at -450 while the Sabres are priced at +333. The O/U opens at 6.5.

The Sabres will look to clean up some issues after taking a 3-2 loss against the Bruins their last time out. The Corsi for the Sabres was 44 and the Corsi against when this game finished was 62 which means they had a Corsi percentage of 41.5%. When starting in the offensive zone they came in at 28.6% and they had a PDO at even strength of 103.5 for this game. Buffalo tallied 16 minutes in the box for this matchup. The Sabres could have played much better offensively in the defeat. Their Fenwick was 30 and the Fenwick against finished at 47, meaning they had a Fenwick percentage of 39.0%. They amassed 21 face-off victories at even strength and lost on 29 attempts to gain puck control. They also had 3 chances with the advantage but weren't able to convert one of them into a goal. In the game, they converted 2 of the 23 shots they put on net.

With respect to their scoring, the Buffalo Sabres have earned 97 goals (30th in pro hockey) on the year and have given up 144. For the year, they have recorded 27 points and their points percentage comes in at .321. Buffalo comes into tonight with 105 power play chances and they have scored 22 goals during those advantages, garnering them a percentage of 20.95%. When playing at even strength, the Sabres have allowed 120 goals while having 75 when they are on offense. Buffalo has taken 1,163 shots and holds a shooting percentage of 8.3%. The Sabres have had 1,370 shots tried against them and have earned a save percentage of .895. Buffalo Sabres opponents have 108 power play opportunities (29th in the NHL) and have a total of 24 goals in those chances.

The player protecting the goal in this game is Linus Ullmark. In his career, Ullmark has recorded 63 quality starts and his quality starts percentage sits at .563. He has a save percentage of .912 in his 6,676 minutes between the pipes. Ullmark has seen 3,527 shot attempts against him and has garnered 3,218 total saves. Opponents have been able to score 309 goals against Ullmark in his professional career and his average for goals against per game is 2.78. He has amassed a win-loss record of 50-47-13 and he has gotten the start in 112 games. Ullmark has been in goal for 117 games throughout his NHL career.

Their last time out, Washington played the Flyers in a matchup where the Capitals ended up with the win by a mark of 6-1. Washington went home with a 43.5% Corsi rating. This Corsi rating is telling of the kind of game that Washington played and they looked good in this game. They had a Fenwick percentage of 47.5% by tallying a Fenwick of 28 and the Flyers having accrued a 31 Fenwick. Their PDO was 109 and their percentage of oZS was 43.2%. The Capitals scored 6 goals out of the 32 shots on goal they tried. They had 3 power play chances in this matchup and tallied 3 out of those chances.

On the season, the Washington Capitals have a total of 150 goals, 60 points, in addition to a points percentage of .698. They have granted a total of 125 goals to be scored by of a combination of 103 goals at even strength and 22 goals while they were shorthanded. The Capitals are sitting with 119 goals at even strength and 31 goals (7th in hockey) while having a power play advantage. They have a tally of 113 power play chances and they have a power play percentage of 27.43%. Washington has tried 1,215 shots (24th in the NHL) and has earned a shot percentage of 12.35%, while allowing the opposition 1,270 shots. They have accumulated a penalty kill rate of 83.08% on their opponents 130 power play opportunities, and their save percentage is 90.2%.

On the other side of the ice you are expected to see Ilya Samsonov in net. Teams are averaging 2.66 goals per game and he has yielded 100 goals altogether. Samsonov's quality start percentage sits at 52.8% and he has qualified for 19 quality starting assignments in his career. He has made the start in 36 games and has racked up 2,259 mins. Samsonov has earned a career mark of 26-9-3 and has participated in 41 games. He has recorded 987 stops out of the 1,087 shots taken against him, giving him a percentage of .908.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Buffalo (+333)

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