Free NHL Picks Today: Anaheim Ducks vs Buffalo Sabres 1/15/23

The Buffalo Sabres (26-22-4) and their clutch power play offense head to take on the Anaheim Ducks (17-31-6), one of the NHL’s worst penalty killing teams, at Honda Center on Wednesday. Buffalo is coming off a 5-2 loss against the Kings on Monday, their fourth defeat in a row.

The Sabres committed four penalties in the game, conceding two power play goals. Peyton Krebs and Dylan Cozens each scored once for the Sabres. Victor Olofsson and Casey Mittelstadt both had two assists to lead the team in scoring. Craig Anderson saved only 23 of 28 shots against (.821%) in the loss.

Anaheim fell 7-2 to the Golden Knights on Sunday. Isac Lundestrom and Frank Vatrano each scored once for the Ducks. Lundestrom added an assist to lead the team in scoring. John Gibson saved only 32 of 39 shots against (.820%) in the loss.

HEAD TO HEAD

The Sabres won the first meeting between the teams this season, a 6-3 victory in January. Ilya Lyubushkin led Buffalo with three points (0G 3A). Trevor Zegras led Anaheim with three points (2G 1A). Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen got the win, saving 34 of 37 shots (.918%).

FACING OFF

Buffalo is averaging 3.63 goals per game for the season, third in the NHL. The visitors will hope to take advantage of a Ducks team that is allowing 4.07 goals a game (32nd).

Meanwhile, Anaheim has found the net 2.44 times a game on average, 32nd in the league, and the Sabres are allowing opponents to score 3.48 goals per game (24th).

The Sabres will be looking to build on their fifth-ranked power play percentage of 25.27% against the Ducks, who are the league’s fifth-weakest penalty killing team (73.80%).

Anaheim, meanwhile, has scored on only 15.29% of their power play opportunities (32nd), which the home team will be aiming to improve on against Buffalo’s 30th-ranked 72.44% penalty killing rate.

TOP PERFORMERS:

With 69 points this season, seventh-most in the NHL, Tage Thompson is the top skater for the Sabres. He is among the league leaders with 35 goals (3rd) and has added 34 assists. In the net, Anderson (8-6-2) is Buffalo’s top goaltender by goals against average. He has a 2.73 GAA and a .918% save percentage.

Luukkonen (13-7-2) leads the Sabres in games played in goal. He has a GAA of 3.47 and a save percentage of .895%. Zegras and Troy Terry lead the Ducks in scoring with 45 and 42 points, respectively. Zegras has 19 goals and 26 assists in 54 games, while Terry has 13 goals and 29 assists in 51 games.

Anthony Stolarz (5-6-0) has the best goals against average for Anaheim at 3.73. He has a save percentage of .897%. Gibson (10-22-5) has played the most games in net for the Ducks this season. He has a 4.04 GAA and a .897% save percentage.