Montreal Canadiens vs Buffalo Sabres Prediction, 11/26/2021 NHL Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Montreal Canadiens vs Buffalo Sabres

Date: Friday, November 26, 2021

Location: KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY

TV: MSG Network

KeyBank Center is the site where Dustin Tokarski and the Buffalo Sabres (7-10-2) will play the Montreal Canadiens (5-14-2) on Friday.

The Canadiens will look to clean up some issues after taking a 6-3 loss to the Capitals their last time on the ice. The Canadiens had a middle of the road offensive output in this defeat. In the matchup, they earned a goal on 3 out of the 28 shots they attempted. They also had 3 attempts on the power play but weren't able to convert one of them into a goal. Montreal had 6 mins in the box in this game. The Corsi for the Canadiens came in at 39 and the Corsi against at the end of this game was 64 which had their Corsi rate coming in at 37.9%. Their Fenwick came in at 32 and the Fenwick against finished at 52, meaning they had a Fenwick percentage of 38.1%. They totaled 20 face-off wins at even strength and were beaten on 28 attempts to take control of the puck. When starting in the offensive zone they came in at 31.0% and their PDO rating was 97.9 for this matchup.

In reference to their goal scoring prowess, the Montreal Canadiens have notched 47 goals (25th in the NHL) on the campaign and have allowed 76. For the season, they have recorded 12 points and their points % is .286. Montreal skates onto the rink with 64 power play chances and they have added 9 goals out of those attempts, garnering them a rate of 14.06%. When at even strength, the Canadiens have allowed the opponent to score 55 goals while notching 38 themselves. Montreal has tried 630 shots and holds a shot percentage of 7.5%. The Canadiens have had 667 shots tried against them and have a save percentage of .886. Montreal Canadiens opponents have recorded 66 power play tries (3rd in hockey) and have earned 21 goals in those attempts.

The player guarding the cage in this matchup is Jake Allen. Allen has played in 333 contests over the course of his pro hockey career. He has earned a record of 163-115-32 and he has started in 313 games. Opponents have tallied 790 goals versus Allen in his professional hockey career and his average for goals against per game is 2.54. Allen has seen 8,909 shot attempts taken against him and has recorded 8,119 total saves. His save percentage sits at .911 during his 18,645 mins guarding the cage. For his career, Allen is sitting with 167 quality starts and his quality starts percentage is .534.

In their last outing, Buffalo faced off against the Bruins in a matchup where the Sabres went home in defeat by a final of 5-1. They had 1 power play opportunity in this outing but didn't put one in the back of the net. The Sabres scored 1 goal out of the 25 shots on goal they tried. Their PDO was 96 and they finished this one with an oZS percentage of 50.0%. Buffalo wrapped up this game with a 47.4% Corsi rating. This Corsi percentage speaks to the kind of game that Buffalo played and the stats tell us that they didn't play well overall. Their Fenwick rate came in at 45.0% with a Fenwick of 36 and the Bruins finishing with a 44 Fenwick.

On the year, the Buffalo Sabres have earned a total of 53 goals, 16 points, in addition to a points percentage of .421. They have allowed 66 goals to be scored by of a combination of 54 goals at even strength and 12 goals while they had less men on the ice. The Sabres have earned 42 goals at even strength and 11 goals (16th in the NHL) while having a power play advantage. They have earned 52 power play opportunities and they have a power play rate of 21.15%. Buffalo has taken 536 shots (24th in the league) and has a shot percentage of 9.89%, while allowing their opponents 638 shots. They have accumulated a penalty kill percentage of 76.92% on their oppositions 52 chances on the power play, and their save percentage currently comes in at 89.7%.

On the other side of the ice you are expected to see Dustin Tokarski protecting the goal. He has accrued 1,464 saves out of 1,619 shots attempted against him, which gives him a save % of .904. Tokarski has amassed a career record of 15-24-9 and has played in 58 games. He was named a starter in 47 games and has been on the ice for 3,010 mins. Tokarski's percentage of quality starts is 44.7% and he has made 21 quality starts in his pro career. Teams are averaging 3.09 goals per contest and he has surrendered 155 goals overall.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Montreal

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