Sabres at Hurricanes 1/11/19 - NHL Picks & Predictions

The Buffalo Sabres look for a second straight victory on Friday when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes. The Sabres defeated the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday 5-1. Jeff Skinner scored his 29th goal and Buffalo scored all five goals during the second period, after trailing 1-0 starting the period. Carter Hutton made 20 saves and Jack Eichel missed his third straight game due to an injury.

Carolina will play the back half of a back-to-back on Thursday after playing on the road Wednesday against Tampa Bay before hosting the Sabres Thursday. The Hurricanes won their fifth straight on Tuesday night when defeating the New York Islanders 4-3. Justin Williams scored Carolina’s winning goal late in the third period. Curtis McElhinney made 28 saves in net for the Hurricanes. Jeff Skinner leads Buffalo in goals scored with 29. Jack Eichel is the leader in assists with 34 and points with 49. Carter Hutton in net is 14-12-3 with a goal’s against average of 2.57 and save percentage of .918. On the season, Buffalo is 19th in goals scored per game at 2.84 and 9th in goals against at 2.79.

Sebastian Aho is the Carolina leader in goals scored with 16, in assists with 29 and points with 45. Goalie Curtis McElhinney is 10-5-1 with a goals against average of 2.25 and a save percentage of .922. Carolina is 27th in goals scored per game at 2.64 and 12th in goals against at 2.83.