Pittsburgh Penguins vs Buffalo Sabres Prediction, 4/18/2021 NHL Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Pittsburgh Penguins vs Buffalo Sabres

Date: Sunday, April 18, 2021

Location: KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Penguins (-263) Sabres (+210)

Tristan Jarry and the Pittsburgh Penguins (27-13-3) are headed to KeyBank Center on Sunday where they'll take on the Buffalo Sabres (11-25-7). The Penguins open this matchup at -263 while the Sabres are priced at +210. The total is set at 6.5.

The Penguins will be looking to get a win in their next outing after their 2-1 loss to the Flyers in their last contest. The Corsi for the Penguins was sitting at 48 and the Corsi against when the final whistle blew was 37 which had their Corsi percentage coming in at 56.5%. Their starts in the offensive zone were rated at 66.0% and their PDO was 99.1 for this game. Pittsburgh garnered 6 penalty minutes in this matchup. The Penguins had a below average offensive performance in the defeat. Their Fenwick came in at 38 and the Fenwick Against sat at 34, meaning they had a Fenwick rate of 52.8%. They accounted for 27 face-off wins at even strength and lost on 26 attempts to win the puck. Moreover, they had 3 attempts on the power play but weren't able to net one. In the game, they were able to notch a goal on 1 out of the 32 shots they attempted.

The Penguins have had 1,271 shots taken against them and are the owners of a save percentage of .906. While playing at even strength, the Penguins have conceded 90 goals while earning 116 when they are on offense. Pittsburgh Penguins opponents have recorded 128 power play tries (19th in professional hockey) and have tallied 29 goals in those chances. For the current campaign, they have recorded 57 points and their points percentage is .663. Pittsburgh has tried 1,274 shots and is the owner of a shot percentage of 11.3%. When talking about their scoring capabilities, the Pittsburgh Penguins have racked up 144 goals (5th in the NHL) for the year and have allowed 119. Pittsburgh skates onto the rink with 125 power play chances and they have notched 28 goals during those chances, garnering them a percentage of 22.40%.

The player guarding the cage in this matchup is Tristan Jarry. Over the course of his time in hockey, Jarry has earned 53 quality starts and his quality starts percentage is .616. He has a save percentage of .913 for his 5,095 minutes guarding the cage. Jarry has seen 2,583 shots against him and has gathered 2,357 total saves. Opponents have tallied 226 goals against Jarry in his pro career and his goals against average per contest is 2.66. He has accumulated an overall mark of 51-28-7 and he has gotten the start in 86 games. Jarry has been in net for 91 games throughout his pro hockey career.

In their last contest, Buffalo went up against the Capitals in an outing where the Sabres notched a win by a final score of 5-2. They had 2 chances on the power play in this matchup but weren't able to finish one of them with a goal. The Sabres tallied 5 goals out of the 30 shots on goal they were seeking. Their PDO was 106 and they earned an oZS percentage of 36.6%. Buffalo had a 46.5% Corsi rating. These Corsi stats speak to the kind of game that Buffalo played and they put on a good performance in this one. Their Fenwick percentage came in at 46.8% by way of having a Fenwick of 37 and the Capitals finishing with a 42 Fenwick.

Buffalo has attempted 1,193 shots (28th in the league) and has a shot percentage of 8.55%, while allowing their opponents 1,399 shots. They have a penalty kill percentage of 78.38% on their opponents 111 opportunities on the power play, and their save percentage comes in at 89.6%. They have earned 107 chances on the power play and they have earned a power play percentage of 20.56%. The Sabres have tallied 80 goals at even strength and 22 goals (24th in pro hockey) while on the power play. They have allowed 146 goals to be scored by of a combination of 122 goals at even strength and 24 goals while they had less men on the ice. For the season, the Buffalo Sabres have a total of 102 goals, 29 points, in addition to a points percentage of .337.

On the other side of the ice you are going to see Dustin Tokarski defending the net. Tokarski has amassed a career mark of 11-16-7 and has been in goal for 41 games. Tokarski's quality start rate is 43.8% and he has qualified for 14 quality starts in his hockey career. He is sitting with 983 stops out of 1,086 shots attempted, giving him a percentage of .905. His opponents are averaging 2.93 goals per contest and he has given up 103 goals in total. He has made the start in 32 contests and has played for a total of 2,108 minutes.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Pittsburgh (-263)

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