Minnesota Wild vs Buffalo Sabres Prediction, 1/7/2023 NHL Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Minnesota Wild vs Buffalo Sabres

Date: Saturday, January 7, 2023

Location: KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY

TV: MSG Network

Odds/Point Spread: Wild (-170) Sabres (+140)

The Minnesota Wild (22-13-2) are traveling to KeyBank Center on Saturday where they will take on the Buffalo Sabres (19-15-2). The moneyline on this game has the Wild at -170 and the Sabres are sitting at +140. The over/under is 7.

The Minnesota Wild had a good night with a 5-1 victory over the Lightning in their last outing. Minnesota accumulated 12 penalty minutes for this game. The Wild had a solid offensive output in this win. In addition, they had 3 attempts on the power play and were able to notch 1 goal. In the game, they scored on 5 out of the 33 shots they tried.

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In reference to their goal scoring prowess, the Minnesota Wild have earned 118 goals (21st in the NHL) for the season and have allowed 102. For the current season, they sit with 46 points and their points percentage is sitting at .622. Minnesota has compiled 119 power play opportunities and they have tallied 28 goals during those chances, earning them a rate of 23.53%. When playing at even strength, the Wild have conceded 76 goals while getting 90 on offense. Minnesota has tried 1,145 shots and has a shooting percentage of 10.3%. The Wild have had 1,099 shots taken against them and have earned a save percentage of .907. Minnesota Wild opponents have totaled 127 power play tries (13th in pro hockey) and have earned 26 goals in those chances.

Patrolling the crease for the game will be Marc-Andre Fleury. For his professional hockey career, Fleury has 443 quality starts and his percentage for quality starts is .550. His save percentage is at .913 for his 55,733 mins on the ice. Fleury has had 27,385 shots against him and has recorded 24,994 total saves. Opponents have scored 2,391 goals versus Fleury in his pro career and his goals against average per contest is 2.57. He has accumulated a mark of 533-307-88 and he was named the starter in 806 games. Fleury has been involved in 963 games during his hockey career.

In their last contest, Buffalo went up against the Capitals in a matchup where the Sabres notched a victory by a score of 5-4. They had 3 power play opportunities in this matchup and tallied 1 out of those tries. The Sabres tallied 5 goals of the 29 shots on goal they took.

Buffalo has put up 1,151 shots (18th in the league) and has a shooting percentage of 12.34%, while allowing the opposition 1,188 shots. They have a penalty kill percentage of 73.11% on their opponents 119 opportunities on the power play, and their save percentage currently comes in at 89.7%. They have recorded 135 power play opportunities and they have a power play percentage of 28.15%. The Sabres have racked up 104 goals at even strength and 38 goals (4th in pro hockey) while having more men on the ice. They have granted a total of 122 goals to be scored by of a combination of 90 goals at even strength and 32 goals while they were shorthanded. On the season, the Buffalo Sabres have accounted for 142 goals, 40 points, in addition to a points percentage of .556.

For the opposition you are going to see Craig Anderson in net. Anderson has accumulated a lifetime record of 315-269-72 and has been in net for 697 games. Anderson's quality start rate comes out to 53.4% and he has made 326 quality starts in his career. He has accrued 19,521 stops out of the 21,396 shots taken against him, giving him a save % of .912. His opposition is averaging 2.85 goals/game and he has yielded 1,875 goals overall. He was named a starter in 610 contests and has played for a total of 39,543 mins.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Buffalo (+140)

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