Pittsburgh Penguins vs Buffalo Sabres Prediction, 3/11/2021 NHL Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Pittsburgh Penguins vs Buffalo Sabres

Date: Thursday, March 11, 2021

Location: KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY

TV: Sportsnet One

Odds/Point Spread: Penguins (-174) Sabres (+157)

KeyBank Center is the site where Carter Hutton and the Buffalo Sabres (6-14-4) will play the Pittsburgh Penguins (15-9-1) on Thursday. The Penguins open this matchup at -174 while the Sabres are coming in at +157. The O/U opens at 6.

The Penguins went home feeling good about their game by earning a 4-2 win over the Rangers their last time on the ice. The offensive zone starts for them came in at 42.9% and their PDO was 111.0 in this one. They earned 23 face-off wins at even strength and were beaten on 29 attempts to gain puck control. Their Fenwick was 29 and the Fenwick Against sat at 36, giving them a Fenwick rate of 44.6%. The Corsi for the Penguins came in at 39 and the Corsi against when the final whistle blew was 58 which means they had a Corsi rate of 40.2%. Pittsburgh accounted for 2 minutes in the box in this game. Additionally, they had 1 power play opportunity but didn't get a goal. The Penguins had a solid offensive performance and it showed in the win. In the game, they tallied a score on 4 out of the 27 shots they tried.

With regard to their scoring capabilities, the Pittsburgh Penguins have earned 78 goals (12th in hockey) this season and have allowed 77. For the current campaign, they have scored 31 points and their points % is .620. Pittsburgh comes into the game with 72 power play chances and they have notched 12 goals out of those tries, earning them a percentage of 16.67%. At even strength, the Penguins have surrendered 57 goals while earning 66 on the offensive side of the ice. Pittsburgh has attempted 718 shots and holds a shooting percentage of 10.9%. The Penguins have had 737 shots taken against them and have a save percentage of .896. Pittsburgh Penguins opponents have earned 76 power play opportunities (17th in the NHL) and have notched 20 goals in those attempts.

The player protecting the goal in this game is Tristan Jarry. In his professional hockey career, Jarry has 44 quality starts and his percentage for quality starts is .587. His save percentage currently is at .911 for his 4,511 minutes between the pipes. Jarry has seen 2,290 shot attempts against him and has garnered 2,086 total saves. The opposition has notched 204 goals against Jarry in his professional hockey career and his average for goals against per game is 2.71. He has a record of 44-27-5 and he was named the starter in 75 games. Jarry has been involved in 80 games during his hockey career.

The last time they were on the ice, Buffalo faced off against the Flyers in an outing where the Sabres were on the wrong end of the score by a tally of 5-4. Buffalo went home with a 33.7% Corsi rate. This Corsi rating is telling of the kind of game that Buffalo played and we'd say they played well overall. They earned a Fenwick percentage of 36.8% with a Fenwick of 25 and the Flyers finishing with a 43 Fenwick. Their PDO was 111 and they finished the game with an oZS percentage of 45.0%. The Sabres recorded 4 goals out of the 20 shots on goal they were seeking. They had 2 attempts on the power play in this matchup but weren't able to notch a goal.

So far this year, the Buffalo Sabres have tallied 54 goals, 16 points, in addition to a points percentage of .333. They have allowed 78 goals to be scored by of a combination of 68 goals at even strength and 10 goals while they had less men on the ice. The Sabres have accumulated 35 goals at even strength and 19 goals (11th in professional hockey) while on the power play. They have a tally of 66 chances on the power play and they have a power play rate of 28.79%. Buffalo has put up 681 shots (26th in professional hockey) and has a shot percentage of 7.93%, while allowing the other team 743 shots. They have a penalty kill rate of 81.82% on the other teams 55 power play tries, and their save percentage comes in at 89.5%.

Across the rink you are likely to see Carter Hutton in net. Hutton has accrued a career record of 94-85-27 and has participated in 228 games. Hutton's quality start percentage comes out to 50.5% and he has made 101 quality starts in his pro hockey career. He has accounted for 5,566 saves out of 6,120 shots attempted, giving him a save percentage of .909. Teams are averaging 2.70 goals per game and he has relinquished 554 goals in total. He has started in 200 games and his ice time sits at 12,311 mins.

Who will win tonight's NHL game ATS?

Guy's Pick: Take Buffalo (+157)

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