Red Wings vs. Sabres prediction: An underdog NHL play in Buffalo

As anticipated, the Buffalo Sabres got here again all the way down to earth a bit after a 4-1 begin to the season that noticed them skate to spectacular wins in opposition to Ottawa, Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver, with the latter three coming away from dwelling. The Sabres dropped two in a row to Seattle and Montreal earlier than rebounding with a win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday to push their file to 5-3. Any fan in Western New York would have signed up for that, contemplating the workforce’s preseason expectations.

The Sabres host the Detroit Pink Wings, who're writing an identical story, on Monday evening. Buffalo is a -140 favourite on.

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Pink Wings vs. Sabres odds (FanDuel)

  • Pink Wings: +122
  • Sabres: -146
  • Over/Underneath: 6.5

Pink Wings vs. Sabres prediction: Pink Wings +122 (FanDuel)

You may draw quite a lot of similarities between the Sabres and the Pink Wings. Each groups are beginning to development in the precise course after a protracted rebuild, they every have a younger star rising as a No. 1 defenseman, and so they’re off to almost equivalent begins to the season. Nonetheless, the consensus earlier than the marketing campaign was that Detroit was the stronger workforce.

Though nonetheless thought of an outsider to make the postseason, the Pink Wings checked into 2022-23 with an Over/Underneath of 84.5 factors, which was seven factors greater than Buffalo. 

The sentiment across the two groups hasn’t shifted that a lot, although it will appear that the Sabres are getting extra respect out there than they did within the early going. 

Ville Husso #35 of the Detroit Red Wings looks for the puck as teammate Pius Suter #24 blocks it
Ville Husso #35 of the Detroit Pink Wings appears to be like for the puck as teammate Pius Suter #24 blocks it
NHLI through Getty Photos

And whereas it's well-earned, due to some spectacular wins, there are nonetheless causes to pump the brakes a bit with the Sabres. Buffalo owns a +3 aim differential at 5-on-5 via its first eight contests, however its anticipated objectives differential sits at -1.5. Most of that modest over-performance will be attributed to the goaltending duo of Eric Comrie and Craig Anderson, who've mixed for a .921 save proportion and +5.32 Targets Saved Above Anticipated (GSAx) to start out the season.

Goaltending is wonky, and goalies can get sizzling/chilly out of nowhere and keep that means for a whole season. Nonetheless, it’s arduous to think about that Buffalo will keep inside the highest 5 in save proportion for a whole season with Anderson, who's 41 years outdated, and Comrie, a profession journeyman enjoying his first vital function within the NHL, main the cost.

Betting on the NHL?

Making issues a bit of harder for the goaltenders is that the Sabres are enjoying a reasonably free fashion out of the gates. Buffalo is creating a good chunk of high-danger scoring possibilities at 5-on-5, however the Sabres rank twenty fourth in stopping them. Detroit has had points driving play to start out the season, however the Wings ought to get loads of appears to be like in opposition to a protection that’s leaky and banged up proper now. 

And whereas the Pink Wings have defensive problems with their very own to type out, they do have a deep ahead group that ought to be capable to masks among the points in their very own finish. If this can be a back-and-forth contest, which appears probably given the type of each bluelines, the Wings ought to have sufficient firepower to show this right into a coin flip, which is greater than sufficient to warrant a wager at +122.

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