Buffalo Sabres vs New York Islanders Prediction, 10/14/2023 NHL Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Buffalo Sabres vs New York Islanders

Date: Saturday, October 14, 2023

Location: UBS Arena in Elmont, NY

TV: MSG

Odds/Point Spread: Sabres (+105) Islanders (-133)

The New York Islanders (42-31-9 last season) will try to beat the Buffalo Sabres (41-33-7 last year) at UBS Arena on Saturday. The odds on this game have Buffalo at +105 and New York is opening at -133. The total comes in at 6.

The Buffalo Sabres will look to clean up some issues after taking a 5-1 defeat against the Rangers in their previous outing. Buffalo amassed 10 penalty minutes in this matchup. Additionally, they had 3 power play opportunities but weren't able to convert one of them into a goal. The Sabres could have played much better offensively in this defeat. For the outing, they scored on 1 out of the 25 shots they tried.

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With regard to their goal scoring prowess, the Buffalo Sabres accounted for 293 goals (3rd in the NHL) last season and gave up 297. For the prior season, they tallied 89 points and their points percentage was .549. Buffalo tallied 268 power play opportunities and tallied 63 goals out of those attempts, earning them a rate of 23.51%. While playing at even strength, the Sabres conceded 236 goals while earning 230. Buffalo attempted 2,665 shots and held a shooting percentage of 11.0%. The Sabres had 2,710 shots taken against them and had a save percentage of .890. Buffalo Sabres opposition had 225 power play opportunities (28th in the NHL) and had a total of 61 goals in those chances.

The player guarding the cage in this matchup is Devon Levi. The opposition has scored 21 goals against Levi in his pro hockey career and his goals against average per game is 2.94. Levi has been in net for 7 contests over the course of his professional hockey career. His save percentage is at .905 in his 429 mins played. He has compiled a mark of 5-2-0 and he started in 7 games. For his career, Levi has compiled 5 quality starts and his quality starts percentage sits at .714. Levi has seen 222 shots taken against him and has accrued 201 total saves.

In their last game, New York faced off against the Hurricanes in an outing where the Islanders were on the wrong end of the score by a score of 2-1. They had 3 opportunities on the power play in this contest but weren't able to put one in the back of the net. The Islanders tallied 1 goal of the 34 shots on goal they took.

The Islanders had 207 goals at even strength and 35 goals (31st in the NHL) while on the power play. New York put up 2,524 shots (19th in the league) and had a shooting percentage of 9.59%, while allowing the other team 2,544 shots. Last season, the New York Islanders accumulated 242 goals, 93 points, in addition to a points percentage of .567. They permitted 217 goals to be scored by of a combination of 178 goals at even strength and 39 goals while they were shorthanded. They had a tally of 222 power play opportunities and they have a power play percentage of 15.77%. They recorded a penalty kill percentage of 82.19% on their opponent's 219 power play opportunities, and their save percentage was at 91.5%.

For the opposition you will find Ilya Sorokin in goal. His opposition is averaging 2.34 goals per game and he has conceded 309 goals in total. Sorokin's rate of quality starts sits at 70.7% and he has 94 quality starts in his pro hockey career. He has made the start in 133 games and has played 7,931 mins. Sorokin has amassed a lifetime record of 70-46-18 and has been in goal for 136 games. He has recorded 3,735 saves out of the 4,044 shots taken against him, which gives him a save percentage of .924.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Buffalo (+105)

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