Free NHL Picks Today: Colorado Avalanche vs Buffalo Sabres 12/15/22

The Buffalo Sabres (13-14-2) head to take on the Colorado Avalanche (15-10-2) at Ball Arena on Thursday. Buffalo is coming off a 6-0 win over the Kings on Tuesday. The Sabres took advantage of their power play opportunities, scoring three goals on six shots while holding Los Angeles without a power play goal.

Tage Thompson led the Sabres with two goals. Craig Anderson recorded his zeroth shutout of the season with an impressive 40 saves. Colorado beat the Flyers 3-2 on Tuesday. Artturi Lehkonen, J.T. Compher, and Devon Toews each scored once for the Avalanche. Lehkonen and Compher both added an assist to lead the team in scoring. Pavel Francouz was impressive in the win, making 26 saves (.928%).

HEAD TO HEAD

The Avalanche won the first meeting between the teams this season, a 6-4 victory on December 1, their eighth straight win against Buffalo. Nathan MacKinnon led Colorado with five points (2G 3A). Thompson and Dylan Cozens each had three points (1G 2A) to lead Buffalo. Alexandar Georgiev got the win despite allowing four goals on 28 shots (.857%).

FACING OFF

Buffalo is averaging 3.93 goals per game for the season, best in the NHL, and they are taking on an Avalanche team that is allowing 2.78 goals a game (9th). Meanwhile, Colorado has found the net 3.07 times a game on average, 16th in the league, and the Sabres are allowing opponents to score 3.55 goals per game (25th).

The Sabres’ 29.20% power play percentage is the second-best in the league, while Colorado’s 28.12% conversion rate ranks fourth. In terms of defending power plays, Colorado has the league’s 22nd-ranked PK% at 76.09%, while Buffalo is 27th at 71.43%.

TOP PERFORMERS:

With 44 points this season, fourth-most in the NHL, Thompson is the top skater for the Sabres. He is among the league leaders with 23 goals (3rd) and has added 21 assists. In the net, Anderson (5-4-1) is Buffalo’s top goaltender by goals against average. He has a 2.97 GAA and a .912% save percentage.

Mikko Rantanen and MacKinnon lead the Avalanche in scoring with 36 and 34 points, respectively. They rank 10th and 10th in the league in points scored on the season.

Rantanen has 19 goals (5th in the league) and 17 assists in 27 games, while MacKinnon has eight goals and 26 assists (6th) in 23 games. Georgiev (11-5-2) has the best goals against average for Colorado at 2.65. He has a save percentage of .920%.