New Jersey Devils vs Buffalo Sabres Prediction, 4/8/2021 NHL Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: New Jersey Devils vs Buffalo Sabres

Date: Thursday, April 8, 2021

Location: KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY

TV: MSG-B

Odds/Point Spread: Devils (-120) Sabres (+100)

KeyBank Center is the venue where Linus Ullmark and the Buffalo Sabres (9-23-6) will take on the New Jersey Devils (13-18-6) on Thursday. The odds on this game have the Devils priced at -120 and the Sabres are at +100. The O/U is set at 5.5.

The Devils will look to clean up some issues after taking a 5-3 defeat against the Sabres in their previous game. The Corsi for the Devils came in at 46 and the Corsi against when the final whistle blew was 25 which had their Corsi rate coming in at 64.8%. When starting in the offensive zone they sat at 51.9% and their PDO rating was 82.7 for this game. New Jersey amassed 6 penalty minutes in this contest. The Devils had a middle of the road offensive outing in the loss. Their Fenwick came in at 39 and the Fenwick against finished at 19, giving them a Fenwick percentage of 67.2%. They tallied 23 face-off wins when at even strength and lost on 23 attempts to gain puck control. In addition, they had 3 power play attempts and were able to net 1 goal. For the game, they tallied a score on 3 of the 30 shots they attempted.

New Jersey Devils opponents have earned 106 power play opportunities (25th in the NHL) and have a total of 29 goals in those attempts. The Devils have had 1,168 shots taken against them and hold a save percentage of .902. New Jersey has attempted 1,097 shots and has a shooting percentage of 8.3%. While at even strength, the Devils have allowed 85 goals while having 77 themselves. New Jersey skates onto the rink with 108 power play opportunities and they have notched 14 goals out of those attempts, giving them a percentage of 12.96%. For the current campaign, they have racked up 32 points and their points % is .432. Pertaining to their scoring, the New Jersey Devils have notched 91 goals (28th in pro hockey) this year and have allowed 114.

The man in net for this game is Mackenzie Blackwood. The opposition has notched 243 goals against Blackwood in his NHL career and his goals against average is 2.77. Blackwood has taken the ice for 92 contests over the course of his NHL career. He has a save percentage of .914 in his 5,262 minutes between the pipes. He has a win-loss record of 41-34-11 and he started in 86 games. For his career, Blackwood has accrued 48 quality starts and his quality starts percentage sits at .558. Blackwood has had 2,822 shots taken against him and has accrued 2,579 saves.

In their win over New Jersey, the Sabres PDO at even strength was 117 and their percentage of oZS was 47.5%. They had 2 power play attempts in this one and netted 1 out of those attempts. Their Fenwick rate came in at 32.8% with a Fenwick of 19 and the Devils having a 39 Fenwick at even strength. The Sabres scored 5 goals out of the 18 shots on goal they attempted. Buffalo had a 35.2% Corsi rating. This Corsi percentage speaks to the kind of game that Buffalo played and it was an excellent showing for this outing.

Buffalo has put up 1,049 shots (30th in pro hockey) and has a shot percentage of 8.01%, while allowing the opposition 1,222 shots. They have recorded a penalty kill percentage of 79.21% on the other teams 101 power play chances, and their save percentage sits at 89.4%. They have a total of 93 opportunities on the power play and they have earned a power play percentage of 22.58%. The Sabres have accumulated 63 goals at even strength and 21 goals (21st in the league) while on the power play. They have permitted 129 goals to be scored by way of 108 goals at even strength and 21 goals while they were shorthanded. Over the course of the season, the Buffalo Sabres have tallied 84 goals, 24 points, and a points percentage of .316.

Across the rink you are going to see Linus Ullmark defending the net. He has recorded 3,143 stops out of the 3,444 shots attempted, which gives him a save percentage of .913. Ullmark is the owner of a career record of 49-46-13 and has played in 114 games. He got the starting nod in 109 contests and has racked up 6,552 minutes. Ullmark's quality start rate is 56.0% and he has qualified for 61 quality starts in his hockey career. Teams are averaging 2.76 goals per game and he has surrendered 301 goals in total.

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

Tony's Pick: Take New Jersey (-120)

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