Chicago Blackhawks at Buffalo Sabres — Bettor’s Scouting Report

Portfolio A · BUF — defenseman shot volume

Chicago Blackhawks have allowed 8.72 shots on goal per game to opposing defensemen (+13.8% versus league). That opens a Buffalo Sabres defenseman SOG search. Buffalo Sabres have generated 8.16 through their defense (+6.4% versus league), which describes their normal volume. Rasmus Dahlin, Mattias Samuelsson and Owen Power have supplied 62% of their team's prior production here, with 38% coming from others. Those shot histories make their SOG markets the clearest individual options.

Portfolio B · CHI — defenseman shot volume

Buffalo Sabres have allowed 8.24 shots on goal per game to opposing defensemen (+7.5% versus league). That opens a Chicago Blackhawks defenseman SOG search. Chicago Blackhawks have generated 7.28 through their defense (-5.1% versus league), which describes their normal volume. Artyom Levshunov, Wyatt Kaiser and Alex Vlasic have supplied 41% of their team's prior production here, with 59% coming from others. Those shot histories make their SOG markets the clearest individual options.

Portfolio C · CHI — forward shot volume

Buffalo Sabres have allowed 20.78 shots on goal per game to opposing forwards (+3.4% versus league). That opens a Chicago Blackhawks forward SOG search. Chicago Blackhawks have generated 17.36 through their forwards (-13.7% versus league), which describes their normal volume. Tyler Bertuzzi and Ryan Donato have supplied 21% of their team's prior production here, with 79% coming from others. That puts their SOG markets at the front of this shot-volume read.

Portfolio D · BUF — forward shot volume

Chicago Blackhawks have allowed 20.59 shots on goal per game to opposing forwards (+2.4% versus league). That opens a Buffalo Sabres forward SOG search. Buffalo Sabres have generated 19.82 through their forwards (-1.4% versus league), which describes their normal volume. Tage Thompson, Josh Doan and Zach Benson have supplied 35% of their team's prior production here, with 65% coming from others. That puts their SOG markets at the front of this shot-volume read.

Chicago Blackhawks — SOG scouting

Buffalo Sabres allowed 20.78 SOG/game to forward lines (+3.4% versus league). That defensive allowance opens a forward lines SOG search. Chicago Blackhawks generated 17.36 (-13.7% versus league) in their prior games; that normal team volume does not erase the matchup. The player scan is attack — broad. Defense pairs also face above-league positional allowance. Overall, Buffalo Sabres allowed 29.0 SOG/game and Chicago Blackhawks generated 24.7; the positional split matters more for this read.

Artyom Levshunov, Wyatt Kaiser, Alex Vlasic and Tyler Bertuzzi are the primary current shot owners. Ryan Donato add current roles with historical five-on-five SOG and attempts. The player tables show each current line or pair, PP route, qualified shot history and an exact quote when one was observed.

Rates are prior per-game observations from their own qualified cohorts; attempts and SOG are one nested shot pool.

Buffalo Sabres — SOG scouting

Chicago Blackhawks allowed 20.59 SOG/game to forward lines (+2.4% versus league). That defensive allowance opens a forward lines SOG search. Buffalo Sabres generated 19.82 (-1.4% versus league) in their prior games; that normal team volume does not erase the matchup. The player scan is attack — broad. Defense pairs also face above-league positional allowance. Overall, Chicago Blackhawks allowed 29.3 SOG/game and Buffalo Sabres generated 28.0; the positional split matters more for this read.

Rasmus Dahlin, Mattias Samuelsson, Owen Power, Tage Thompson and Josh Doan are the primary current shot owners. Zach Benson add current roles with historical five-on-five SOG and attempts. The player tables show each current line or pair, PP route, qualified shot history and an exact quote when one was observed.

Rates are prior per-game observations from their own qualified cohorts; attempts and SOG are one nested shot pool.

Buffalo Sabres — defenseman shot volume

Chicago Blackhawks have allowed 8.72 shots on goal per game to opposing defensemen (+13.8% versus league). That opens a Buffalo Sabres defenseman SOG search. Buffalo Sabres have generated 8.16 through their defense (+6.4% versus league), which describes their normal volume. The defensive allowance starts the player scan; the team’s prior shooting rate does not veto it. That makes the back end a natural place to look for shots.

Rasmus Dahlin, Mattias Samuelsson and Owen Power have taken a meaningful share of those shots, though teammates have plenty of them too. Their current lines or pairs give them even-strength ice; Rasmus Dahlin also skates on PP1. Rasmus Dahlin recorded 1.81 SOG and 4.04 attempts per qualified game at five-on-five; current PP1 membership adds a possible route, with 0.60 SOG and 1.53 attempts per game in prior power-play states. The teams’ past PP chance rates add context for that route. Attempts include shots that missed or were blocked; they are part of the same shot pool as SOG.

That makes their SOG markets the cleanest way to bet on the shots. They need to put pucks on net; they do not need to score.

Chicago Blackhawks — defenseman shot volume

Buffalo Sabres have allowed 8.24 shots on goal per game to opposing defensemen (+7.5% versus league). That opens a Chicago Blackhawks defenseman SOG search. Chicago Blackhawks have generated 7.28 through their defense (-5.1% versus league), which describes their normal volume. The defensive allowance starts the player scan; the team’s prior shooting rate does not veto it. That makes the back end a natural place to look for shots.

Artyom Levshunov, Wyatt Kaiser and Alex Vlasic have taken a meaningful share of those shots, though teammates have plenty of them too. Their current lines or pairs give them even-strength ice; Artyom Levshunov also skates on PP1. Artyom Levshunov recorded 0.87 SOG and 2.23 attempts per qualified game at five-on-five; current PP1 membership adds a possible route, with 0.23 SOG and 0.58 attempts per game in prior power-play states. Attempts include shots that missed or were blocked; they are part of the same shot pool as SOG.

That makes their SOG markets the cleanest way to bet on the shots. They need to put pucks on net; they do not need to score.

Chicago Blackhawks — forward shot volume

Buffalo Sabres have allowed 20.78 shots on goal per game to opposing forwards (+3.4% versus league). That opens a Chicago Blackhawks forward SOG search. Chicago Blackhawks have generated 17.36 through their forwards (-13.7% versus league), which describes their normal volume. The defensive allowance starts the player scan; the team’s prior shooting rate does not veto it.

Tyler Bertuzzi carry the largest prior share of this shot group. Ryan Donato also has a current line and recorded five-on-five shots and attempts, so the shot case reaches beyond the primary names. Other players supplied 79% of the team's prior group SOG. Ryan Donato recorded 1.18 SOG and 2.75 attempts per qualified game at five-on-five; current PP2 membership adds a possible route, with 0.30 SOG and 0.61 attempts per game in prior power-play states. Attempts include shots that missed or were blocked; they are part of the same shot pool as SOG.

That makes their SOG markets the cleanest way to bet on the shots. They need to put pucks on net; they do not need to score.

Buffalo Sabres — forward shot volume

Chicago Blackhawks have allowed 20.59 shots on goal per game to opposing forwards (+2.4% versus league). That opens a Buffalo Sabres forward SOG search. Buffalo Sabres have generated 19.82 through their forwards (-1.4% versus league), which describes their normal volume. The defensive allowance starts the player scan; the team’s prior shooting rate does not veto it.

Tage Thompson and Josh Doan carry the largest prior share of this shot group. Zach Benson also has a current line and recorded five-on-five shots and attempts, so the shot case reaches beyond the primary names. Other players supplied 65% of the team's prior group SOG. Zach Benson recorded 1.28 SOG and 2.41 attempts per qualified game at five-on-five; current PP1 membership adds a possible route, with 0.36 SOG and 0.54 attempts per game in prior power-play states. The teams’ past PP chance rates add context for that route. Attempts include shots that missed or were blocked; they are part of the same shot pool as SOG.

That makes their SOG markets the cleanest way to bet on the shots. They need to put pucks on net; they do not need to score.

Chicago Blackhawks PP1

Chicago Blackhawks have averaged 2.98 power plays per game, and Buffalo Sabres have conceded 2.79. Together those past rates sit at roughly 3 chances. That is close to average, so PP1 has to produce from about its usual number of chances.

When Chicago Blackhawks have had the extra skater, they generated 1.23 SOG per chance; Buffalo Sabres allowed 1.48. Tyler Bertuzzi and Artyom Levshunov have scored the most PP goals among today's PP1, while Artyom Levshunov and Tyler Bertuzzi have supplied the most credited PP assists. The listed unit is current, but its minutes tonight are not guaranteed.

PP2 (informational): Frank Nazar, Ryan Donato, Nick Lardis, Oliver Moore, Alex Vlasic.

Buffalo Sabres PP1

Buffalo Sabres have averaged 2.91 power plays per game, and Chicago Blackhawks have conceded 3.02. Together those past rates sit at roughly 3 chances. That is a little more favorable than average, giving PP1 another chance to matter.

When Buffalo Sabres have had the extra skater, they generated 1.41 SOG per chance; Chicago Blackhawks allowed 1.29. Josh Doan and Tage Thompson have scored the most PP goals among today's PP1, while Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin have supplied the most credited PP assists. The listed unit is current, but its minutes tonight are not guaranteed.

PP2 (informational): Josh Norris, Noah Ostlund, Ryan McLeod, Konsta Helenius, Owen Power.