Devils vs. Sabres Odds
| Devils Odds | -145 |
| Sabres Odds | +125 |
| Total | 6.5 +100 / -120 |
Let's dive into the Devils vs. Sabres odds with our NHL best bets as the 2023-24 NHL season officially kicks off on Friday, October 4.
In a matinee start, the latest NHL season again gets underway overseas – this time with the two-game Global Series Czechia at O2 Arena in Prague.
New Jersey and Buffalo both look to rebound from disappointing seasons as they start fresh with the 2024-25 campaign today (1 p.m. ET, NHL Network). And our NHL experts have combed the Devils vs. Sabres odds boards and betting markets to find 5 value-laden bets, including 3 player props, for the NHL season opener, which will be followed by a second meeting between these two clubs on Saturday.
Here are our Devils vs Sabres picks and predictions for Friday's early start.
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Sabres vs. Devils Picks & Predictions
The team logos in the table below represent each of the matchups that our NHL betting staff is targeting from today's slate of games. Click on the team logos for any of the matchups below to navigate to a specific bet discussed in this article.
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Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our NHL Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | ||
Devils vs. Sabres
By Nick Martin
These two teams should be among the leagues most exciting sides to watch this season, and two standalone afternoon matchups between them live from the O2 in Prague should provide an excellent start to the NHL campaign.
In 2022-23 the Sabres scored the third most goals in the league (3.57 per game) and missed the playoffs by only a single point. They regressed heavily last season, scoring just 2.98 goals per game and managing only 84 points, leading to Don Granato's dismissal as bench boss.
The Sabres played a more passive game last season in an attempt to shore up their defensive play, which ultimately led to a team that wasn't particularly great at anything and did not own much of the overall run of play. Tage Thompson had a down year as he fought through a wrist injury, and for varying reasons, talented youngsters Dylan Cozens and Jack Quinn did not produce as expected.
The Sabres also succeeded just 16.6% of the time on the powerplay, which is pretty surprising for a unit quarterbacked by Rasmus Dahlin and offering excellent one-timers from either side in Tage Thompson and J.J. Peterka. Look for the Sabres man advantage unit to bounce-back into the top half of the league this year.
J.J Peterka, Thompson and Alex Tuch should provide the Sabres a highly dangerous top unit, and a second line of Zach Benson, Cozens and Quinn could be lethal relative to what other sides are offering.
The start of the season is pretty volatile, and the Sabres are a team with a high ceiling. While I'm high on the Devils, betting on the Sabres early on at a lofty price of +130 before we really know what these teams really are currently looks far more appealing than laying the juice.
Pick: Sabres ML (+130)
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Devils vs. Sabres
By Nick Martin
A healthy Tage Thompson potentially putting up numbers more in line with what we saw in 2022-23, when he netted 47 goals and 94 points, is one key reason the Sabres offense could be much improved.
I'm still a firm believer that Thompson's silky hands around the net and shot from distance should make him a truly elite goalscorer.
Special bets like this one (listed under "FanDuel Prague Specials") – Tage Thompson to Score in Both Games (+550) – aren't truly a fair number, and you will often be best suited to roll bets over manually in many comparable instances. However, +550 looks pretty fair as Thompson is priced at +150 to score in Game 1, which would mean you'd be getting +525 to roll it over yourself if Thompson is priced the same to score in Game 2.
Thompson may also end up at a shorter number to score in Game 2 given that it should be a Jake Allen start, which would to a slightly higher total and shorter number on the Sabres. A productive showing from Thompson in Game 1 may also cause a worse number to back him in Game 2.
For those reasons, this looks like a fun prop to back a player I'm very high on this season coming out of the gate in strong form.
Pick: Tage Thompson to Score in Both Games (+550)
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Devils vs. Sabres
By Greg Liodice
We’ll see a totally new staff behind the New Jersey Devils’ bench, and I think Tom Fitzgerald hit the nail on the head.
For all the flack Sheldon Keefe caught in Toronto (not hard to catch flack there), I think he’s a solid coach who was put in an impossible situation. In New Jersey, Keefe is working with a more well-rounded franchise instead of an incredibly top-heavy one.
The Devils addressed their goaltending issues over the offseason by bringing in Jacob Markstrom. While Markstrom can run hot and cold season by season, I think a new situation with the Devils can help his confidence.
Their opponents, the Buffalo Sabres, have long been in the dungeon. They hold the longest active streak in the NHL for missing the playoffs, and quite frankly, I’m done believing in them. I love the talent they have, but it has never clicked. They’ve been the team that everyone has said to “look out for,” and yet they find themselves in the lottery year after year.
Coach Lindy Ruff returns to Buffalo, though, after a few years in New Jersey, and maybe he’s the one that puts the Sabres over the edge. Ruff spent 16 years behind the bench in Buffalo and parted ways in 2013. From then to now, he had stints in Dallas and New Jersey, and he has always managed to get the most out of his team early in his tenure – but then lose the room later on, like what we saw last season.
I’ll see it when I believe it, though. Buffalo will continue to be an NHL anomaly until it finally reaches the postseason.
New Jersey is primed for a breakout year after a disappointing and injury-riddled last season. Outside of the usual suspects in Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt and Nico Hischier, the Devils bolstered their depth by adding savvy veterans in Brett Pesce, Brenden Dillon, Jonathan Kovacevic and Paul Cotter.
All that being said, I’m backing the Devils to win in regulation. I see them coming into this season with something to prove, so I'm going to be bet them to win in regulation/on the 60-minute line.
Pick: Devils 60-Minute Line (+110)
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Devils vs. Sabres
So much went wrong for the Sabres in 2023-24 that is easy to forget the positives.
One of them was Jack Quinn's play after he returned from an offseason injury.
The No. 8 overall pick from the 2020 draft posted 19 points (9 G, 10 A) in 27 games. He looked like a player on the cusp of a big leap.
We'll try to get in early on said leap by backing Quinn to score at +360 in the first game of the season.
Pick: Jack Quinn Anytime Goal (+360)
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Devils vs. Sabres
We're also going to sprinkle on Quinn to score the first goal of the 2024-25 season at +2200.
While most of the attention in both of these markets will go to the offensive stars in this game such as Jack Hughes and Tage Thompson, I think there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic that Quinn can light the lamp for Buffalo.
The 23-year-old Cobden, Ontario, native will be playing on what should be a high-upside second line with Dylan Cozens and Zach Benson – plus Quinn is going to be on the first power play unit with Thompson, Rasmus Dahlin, JJ Peterka and Alex Tuch.
Fantasy nerds have Quinn circled as a player to watch this season, so let's hope they get to take an early victory lap with a big game out of the gates.
Pick: Jack Quinn First Goalscorer (+2200)
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