Panthers vs. Sabres NHL Pick – December 18th

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By Kyle E in NHL Picks —
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/> </div> <p></a></div> <p>The Buffalo Sabres are back home after a couple of games on the road. They split against the Capitals and Bruins, with a hard fought 4-3 loss to the Capitals in a shootout and a 4-2 win over the Bruins on Sunday. With the win over Boston, the Sabres advanced to 20-9-4 on the season. Jack Eichel and Jeff Skinner were the centrepiece of that game, as has been the case throughout the regular season for the Sabres. Eichel and Skinner both notched 2 goals to add to what has already been a stellar year for them. </p> <p>Skinner will likely go down as the acquisition of the offseason, as the Hurricanes parted ways with him after eight years in Raleigh. It was a wasted eight years for the Hurricanes. They were never able to hone his skill set like the Sabres have. That’s in large part because of the team around him. </p> <p>Skinner totaled 37 goals and 26 assists in 2016-17, so imagine what those could have looked like on a good team. Skinner has already recorded 24 goals and 11 assists. His +/- has really jumped out this season, though. He has a 21 which is only the second time in his career it’s been in the positive. </p> <p>That wasn’t even close to this, though, as he finished with a +/- of 3 in 2010-11 in his rookie campaign. He’s been one of the more underrated players in the league throughout his career and he’s finally getting some recognition on a winning team. </p> <p>The Panthers are coming off a marquee win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in Sunrise. They dispatched the Leafs by a score of 4-3, with an Aleksander Barkov goal ending things in overtime. It was his 3rd goal of the game to get the win and a hat trick. </p> <p>Along with Skinner, this game is going to feature two of the most underrated players in the league. Barkov is starting to get noticed by some, but it’s going to take a strong push in the second-half for the rest to begin noticing him. The Panthers go into Buffalo with a record of 12-13-3, so there is a lot of work left to do despite the win over Toronto. Get our free Panthers vs. Sabres pick below. </p> <h2 class=Florida Panthers vs. Buffalo Sabres Pick

Bob Boughner has a couple of building blocks on his roster up-front and on the blue line. And it isn’t just Barkov and Aaron Ekblad, either. 25-year-old Jonathan Huberdeau leads the team with 38 points, as he’s been a terrific facilitator for the Panthers. Huberdeau has tallied 29 assists and 9 goals for a pretty solid season.

The problems start to get revealed when not one lead player on the Panthers has a +/- in the positive. Conversely, if you look at the Sabres, there are several who are sitting in the green. Eichel, Skinner, Reinhart, Dahlin, and Pominville are all well in the positive. That’s the difference between a 12-13-3 and 20-9-4 team. The Sabres ran into five straight losses after their torrid 10-0 romp, but have since won three of their previous four games.

The negative +/-‘s are no surprise when you look at how their defence has performed this season. Luongo has played great in spots, but his GAA is still north of 3.00 and he’s just clinging on to a save percentage above 0.90. The Panthers rank 28th with 3.55 goals allowed per game. Their blue line takes a further hit on the road, with 4 goals allowed. They’ve gone just 5-8-0 on the road this season. After a big win over the Maple Leafs, expect a letdown for the Panthers in Buffalo on Tuesday.

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Kyle E / Author

Kyle is a veteran of TheSportsGeek and has spent nearly a decade providing accurate sports picks and writeups here. He has been a sports handicapper for 10+ years and started sharing his picks and thoughts in 2011 at TheSportsGeek. His expertise spans across multiple sports, including the NFL, NCAAF, MLB, NHL, and horse racing. Prior to writing for TheSportsGeek, Kyle was a fantasy football expert, who ultimately parlayed it into a successful sports betting career. You can find his picks daily only at TheSportsGeek.

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