Minnesota Wild vs Buffalo Sabres Prediction, 3/4/2022 NHL Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Minnesota Wild vs Buffalo Sabres

Date: Friday, March 4, 2022

Location: KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY

TV: MSG Network

Odds/Point Spread: Wild (-163) Sabres (+138)

The Minnesota Wild (31-17-3) are en route to KeyBank Center on Friday where they will go up against the Buffalo Sabres (17-30-8). The moneyline on this contest has Minnesota at -163 while Buffalo is sitting at +138. The betting total comes in at 7.

The Minnesota Wild will look for better times on the ice after their 5-1 defeat against the Flames their last time on the ice. Minnesota garnered 17 penalty mins in this game. The Wild had a rough night on the offensive side of the ice in this loss. Additionally, they had 4 power play tries but weren't able to convert one of them into a goal. For the game, they scored on 1 of the 33 shots they attempted.

Get all of our NHL Parlay Picks

Regarding scoring goals, the Minnesota Wild have racked up 187 goals (5th in the NHL) for the year and have conceded 159. For the current campaign, they have earned 65 points and their points percentage is sitting at .637. Minnesota has compiled 159 power play chances and they have scored 31 goals out of those attempts, giving them a percentage of 19.50%. While playing at even strength, the Wild have given up 121 goals while scoring 156 on the offensive side of the ice. Minnesota has taken 1,650 shots and holds a shot percentage of 11.3%. The Wild have had 1,655 shots attempted against them and have a save percentage of .904. Minnesota Wild opponents have tallied 172 power play opportunities (5th in the NHL) and have notched 38 goals in those attempts.

Patrolling the crease for the game will be Kaapo Kahkonen. The opposition has scored 135 goals against Kahkonen in his professional hockey career and his average for goals against per game is 2.81. Kahkonen has taken the ice for 50 matchups over the course of his hockey career. He has a save percentage of .909 in his 2,887 mins played. He has earned a win-loss mark of 31-14-3 and he has started in 47 games. For his career, Kahkonen has 26 quality starts and his quality starts rate sits at .553. Kahkonen has had 1,489 shot attempts against him and has recorded 1,354 saves.

Their last time out, Buffalo faced off against the Maple Leafs in a game where the Sabres took home the win by a mark of 5-1. They had 2 opportunities on the power play in this one and notched 1 goal out of those chances. The Sabres netted 5 goals out of the 31 shots on goal they took.

The Sabres have accumulated 117 goals at even strength and 29 goals (19th in the NHL) while having a power play advantage. Buffalo has put up 1,637 shots (17th in the league) and has accumulated a shot percentage of 8.92%, while allowing the opposition 1,884 shots. For the season, the Buffalo Sabres are sitting with 146 goals, 42 points, as well as a points percentage of .382. They have a total of 148 opportunities on the power play and they have accumulated a power play rate of 19.59%. They have recorded a penalty kill rate of 76.71% on their oppositions 146 power play opportunities, and their save percentage is currently 89.6%. They have granted a total of 195 goals to be scored by way of 161 goals at even strength and 34 goals while they were shorthanded.

Across the rink you are likely to see Craig Anderson protecting the goal. His opposition is averaging 2.84 goals per game and he has yielded 1,783 goals in total. Anderson's rate of quality starts sits at 53.6% and he has accumulated 311 quality starts in his professional career. He has started in 580 games and his ice time sits at 37,708 minutes. Anderson has a career record of 298-259-69 and has been in net for 666 contests. He has recorded 18,650 saves out of the 20,433 shots taken, giving him a save percentage of .913.

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

Parlays Pundit's Pick: Take Buffalo (+138) and under 6.5 goals

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