Carolina Hurricanes at Buffalo Sabres NHL Picks & Predictions 12/15/2017

Friday, December 15, 2017

KeyBank Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Carolina Hurricanes travel to KeyBank Center to play the Buffalo Sabres on Friday, December 15, 2017. The opening line for this game has the Hurricanes at -130 and the Sabres at +118.

Carolina has a record of 12-11-7 this season and on the road they have a record of 6-7-4. They are 8th in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 83 goals and given up 93 goals for a point differential of -10. For the season they have an ATS record of 12-18-0 and an over/under record of 14-14-0. Buffalo is 8-17-6 including 4-9-1 at home this season. They are 8th in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 67 goals and surrendered 104 for a goal differential of -37. Their record against the spread is 8-23-0 while their over/under record is 11-17-0.

Valuable Carolina Hurricanes Betting Trends

The Carolina Hurricanes are 12-18-0 straight up this year

The Carolina Hurricanes are 14-14-0 against the over/under this season

Important Buffalo Sabres Betting Trends

The Buffalo Sabres are 8-23-0 straight up this year

The Buffalo Sabres are 11-17-0 against the over/under this season

Key Carolina Hurricanes Injuries

11/13/17 RW Lee Stempniak Hip IR (10/02)

Key Buffalo Sabres Injuries

12/12/17 D Nathan Beaulieu Illness is "?" Thursday vs Philadelphia
11/27/17 C Jacob Josefson Ankle IR (11/26)
11/17/17 D Taylor Fedun Lower Body IR (11/15)

Player Spotlight

Sebastian Aho has accumulated 21 total points this season for the Hurricanes. He has 7 goals this year with 87 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 8%. He has a total of 14 assists on the season and averages 18.4 minutes played per game. Teuvo Teravainen averages 16.9 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 12% by scoring 8 goals on 65 shots. He has 16 assists, giving him a total of 24 points on the season. Scott Darling has 7 wins and 9 losses this season in net for the Hurricanes. He has 583 shots against him and he's given up 59 goals. He's made 524 saves for a save percentage of 90%.

Player Spotlight

Jack Eichel has scored 24 total points this year for the Sabres. He has 8 goals this season with 97 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 8%. He has a total of 16 assists on the season and averages 20.6 minutes played per game. Evander Kane averages 20 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 11% by scoring 14 goals on 131 shots. He has 14 assists, giving him a total of 28 points on the season. Robin Lehner has 7 wins and 12 losses this year in goal for the Sabres. He has 696 shots against him and he's surrendered 62 goals. He's made 634 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Hurricanes have 31 total points this season, which ranks them 22nd in the NHL. They are 24th in the league in goals scored with 83 while they've given up 93 goals, ranking them 14th overall. They have had 98 power play opportunities and have scored 15 goals on those chances for a percentage of 15%. That is 28th in the NHL. The Hurricanes have allowed 73 power play opportunities and have given up 17 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 77%, putting them 28th in the league when short-handed. They average 35 shots per game and as a team shoot 7.86% for the season. They allow 29 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 90%. That puts them 27th in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Sabres are 30th in the NHL with a total of 22 points this year. They have 13 power play goals on 98 opportunities for a percentage of 13%. That ranks them 30th in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 97 power play opportunities and have given up 18 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 81%. That is 15th in the NHL. As a team, the Sabres are 31st in the league with 67 goals scored while they've given up 104 goals, which is 4th overall. They average 31 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 7.04%. As a team they give up 32 shots per game and have a save percentage of 90%. That is 26th in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Carolina is 1st in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 55%, as they've attempted 2,006 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,643 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 54.2% as they have 1,465 attempts while they have given up 1,240 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 1st in the league. The Hurricanes start possessions in the offensive zone 59.1% of the time, which is 1st in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 40.9% for the season. That is 31st overall in the NHL. They have 939 face-off wins compared to 826 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 53.2%. That ranks them 1st in the league. On defense Carolina has 549 hits and they have blocked 403 shots from the opposition, putting them 27th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Sabres start possessions in the offensive zone 52.5% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 47.5% for the year. That ranks them 8th and 19th respectively in the NHL. They have 951 face-off wins as opposed to 916 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.9%. That is 11th in the league. On defense Buffalo has 722 hits and they've blocked 452 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 17th in blocked shots. Buffalo is ranked 24th in Corsi percentage with 48.1% as they've tried 1,675 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 1,809 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 18th in the NHL at 48.5%, as they have 1,276 shots while they've given up 1,357 attempts on defense.

Who will win tonight's Hurricanes/Sabres NHL game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take Buffalo +118

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