The New Jersey Devils entered the season as one of the favorites to win the Stanley Cup, and they showed why in their season opener against the Buffalo Sabres. Even without two of their top defensemen, they took care of business en route to a sweat-free 4-1 win.
However, led by Tage Thompson, my Sabres vs. Devils predictions see Buffalo putting forth a more fruitful offensive performance in the second leg of the back-to-back.
Let’s break it all down with my NHL picks for Saturday, October 5.
Sabres vs Devils prediction
My best bet
Tage Thompson Over 0.5 points + Over 1.5 shots (-130 at bet365)
My analysis
Tage Thompson didn’t get on the scoresheet in his season debut but there was a lot to like beneath the surface. Lindy Ruff relied heavily on Thompson in his first game behind the Buffalo Sabres' bench, giving Thompson nearly 22 minutes of ice.
The Sabres generated a lot of opportunities during Thompson’s minutes, piling up 13 scoring chances and 29 shot attempts. Thompson factored into them heavily, recording seven shot attempts of his own — including a pair of great looks around the net.
There were plenty of sequences where Thompson could have found the scoresheet. Volume is king and, generally speaking, a player of Thompson’s caliber is going to make one count more often than not.
Perhaps the more important factor is the expected change in goal. New Jersey Devils netminder Jacob Markstrom, the NHL’s leader in high-danger save percentage a season ago, is likely to sit out in this back-to-back situation.
Although Jake Allen is a competent goaltender in his own right, he’s nowhere near Markstrom’s caliber. Markstrom saved 28.93 goals above expected for a bad Calgary team last season, while Allen finished with a 2.71 split between New Jersey and Montreal.
I love using an alt line of 1.5 shots for Thompson to boost the odds. He cleared this line 87% of the time last season and did so again in the season opener.
The Sabres don't play again until Thursday so they’ll have plenty of time to recover after this game. I expect a big workload for Thompson as Buffalo attempts to earn a split.
Sabres vs Devils same-game parlay (SGP)
Tage Thompson Over 0.5 points
Tage Thompson Over 1.5 shots
Dougie Hamilton Over 2.5 shots
We backed Dougie Hamilton with our best bet in Game 1 of the mini-series and he came through with four shots on goal.
Hamilton checked every single box you could hope to see. He attempted seven shots and was very involved in the play at both even strength and the power play. The star defenseman also led all Devils skaters in full-strength ice time and finished second to Brenden Dillon across all game situations.
If Game 2 is a little tighter and New Jersey faces any need to push for offense, Hamilton could see even more ice time.
Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.
Sabres vs Devils odds
Sabres vs Devils live odds
Sabres vs Devils opening odds
- Puck line: Buffalo +1.5 | New Jersey -1.5
- Moneyline: Buffalo +135 | New Jersey -160
- Over/Under: Over 6.5 | Under 6.5
Sabres vs Devils moneyline and Over/Under analysis
- The Devils closed -150 favorites in the first game of the head-to-head. After an impressive 4-1 win, we’ve seen the market give the Devils a little more respect.
- Like Friday's opener, the total is once again set at 6.5
- New Jersey has won eight of its past 11 games against Buffalo.
- Seven of the last nine head-to-head meetings featured seven goals or more. With both backups in, we might see more of the same.
Sabres vs Devils trend
Thompson has only gone pointless in consecutive games once over his last 19 games. Find more NHL betting trends for Sabres vs. Devils.
Sabres vs Devils game info
| Location: | O2 Arena, Prague, CZ |
| Date: | Saturday, 10-5-2024 |
| Puck drop: | 10:00 a.m. ET |
| TV: | NHL Network, Sportsnet |
Sabres vs Devils latest injuries
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