Philadelphia Flyers vs Buffalo Sabres Prediction, 3/31/2021 NHL Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Philadelphia Flyers vs Buffalo Sabres

Date: Wednesday, March 31, 2021

Location: KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY

TV: NBCSN

Odds/Point Spread: Flyers (-185) Sabres (+160)

Linus Ullmark and the Buffalo Sabres (6-23-5) play the Philadelphia Flyers (17-13-4) at KeyBank Center on Wednesday. The Sabres open this contest at +160 while the Flyers are priced at -185. The O/U has been set at 6.

The Flyers were on the right side of the scoreboard with a 4-3 victory against the Sabres in their previous contest. The offensive zone starts for them came in at 36.7% and their PDO was 102.2 in this game. They had 28 face-off wins when at even strength and were beaten on 24 attempts to control the puck. Their Fenwick was 43 and the Fenwick against was 34, meaning they had a Fenwick rate of 55.8%. The Corsi for the Flyers sat at 57 and the Corsi against when the final whistle blew was 44 which means they had a Corsi percentage of 56.4%. Philadelphia accumulated 4 penalty minutes in this game. Furthermore, they had 2 opportunities with more players on the ice but weren't able to make the most of them. The Flyers had a great offensive game plan going into this one and it showed in the victory. In the game, they converted 4 out of the 36 shots they put on goal.

The Flyers have had 990 shots attempted against them and are the owners of a save percentage of .878. When playing at even strength, the Flyers have conceded 93 goals while notching 82 on the offensive side of the ice. Philadelphia Flyers opponents have totaled 105 power play opportunities (18th in hockey) and have come away with 28 goals in those chances. For the season, they have accumulated 38 points and their points percentage is sitting at .559. Philadelphia has attempted 997 shots and holds a shooting percentage of 10.5%. In the matter of their goal scoring prowess, the Philadelphia Flyers have racked up 105 goals (12th in pro hockey) so far this year and have allowed 121. Philadelphia has 113 power play chances and they have added 23 goals during those advantages, giving them a percentage of 20.35%.

Patrolling the crease for the game will be Brian Elliott. In his professional hockey career, Elliott has 244 quality starts and his quality starts percentage is .550. His save percentage is .911 in his 27,050 mins on the ice. Elliott has had 12,737 shots against him and he has 11,604 total saves. The opposition has scored 1,133 goals against Elliott in his professional career and his goals against rate is 2.51. He has compiled a mark of 250-150-48 and was named the starter in 444 games. Elliott has been in net for 490 games over the course of his hockey career.

In their loss to Philadelphia, Buffalo had 2 opportunities on the power play in this contest but weren't able to put one in the back of the net. The Sabres converted 3 goals of the 32 shots on goal they attempted. Their PDO was 98 and they earned an oZS percentage of 63.3%. Buffalo wound up with a 43.6% Corsi rating. These Corsi stats speak to the kind of game that Buffalo had and you might say they looked run of the mill in this one. Their Fenwick percentage came in at 44.2% by earning a Fenwick of 34 and the Flyers finishing with a 43 Fenwick.

Buffalo has tried 952 shots (28th in professional hockey) and has earned a shooting percentage of 7.25%, while allowing the other team 1,083 shots. They have a penalty kill percentage of 78.41% on their opponents 88 tries on the power play, and their save percentage is 88.9%. They have a total of 88 opportunities on the power play and they have a power play rate of 22.73%. The Sabres have scored 49 goals at even strength and 20 goals (22nd in the league) while on the power play. They have allowed 120 goals to be scored by way of 101 goals at even strength and 19 goals while they had less men on the ice. Over the course of the season, the Buffalo Sabres have earned a total of 69 goals, 17 points, and a points percentage of .250.

For the opposition you are expected to see Linus Ullmark in the crease. He has tallied 3,057 saves out of the 3,352 shots attempted against him, which gives him a rate of .912. Ullmark has accumulated a career mark of 46-46-13 and has participated in 111 games. He has been a starter 106 contests and has played 6,367 mins. Ullmark's quality start rate comes out to 55.7% and he has accumulated 59 quality starts in his professional career. His opposition is averaging 2.78 goals/game and he has surrendered 295 goals altogether.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Philadelphia (-185)

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