NHL: New York Rangers vs. Buffalo Sabres Betting Preview
The Sabres Were One Point From Making The Postseason in 22-23
The New York Rangers (0-0-0) are looking for their first division win since 2015 when they open up the new season in Buffalo against the Sabres (0-0-0). The Rangers were ousted in the first round of the playoffs last year by the New Jersey Devils in seven games, while Buffalo finished the 22-23 campaign 8-2-2 to fall just short of the playoffs.
New York is -127 road favorite with a total of 6.4 (over -114). The likely goaltending match-up is Igor Shesterkin for New York and Devon Levi for Buffalo. The puck drops at 7:00 ET / 4:00 pm PT and can be seen on MSG. Let’s start our Rangers vs Sabres betting odds preview, starting with New York
NHL Didn’t Do New York Any Favors
105 points in the league’s biggest market isn’t good enough, so the league punished the New York Rangers by making them play 13 of their first 18 on the road. Of course, that’s a joke, but the final laugh may be on the Eastern Conference because the Rangers have been terrific away from Madison Square Garden, winning 49 of their last 82 games or 60%.
That has been good for bettors who have won 8.80 units betting on blue on the road. Over the last five NHL seasons, New York is 81-63 (56%) +19.51 units away from the ‘Big Apple’ Only the Edmonton Oilers have been more profitable away from home since 2019, winning an incredible 22.62 units. The question for the Rangers is, will they be more disciplined than last season when they finished fourth in the league with 625 penalty minutes?
Although six of the league’s top seven most penalized teams made the playoffs, we always thought Gerard Gallant could have found more of a balance. Out goes Gallant, and in comes new head coach Peter Laviolette who knows that too much time in the box for a PK that was just a little above average with a kill rate of 81.2% isn’t going to get his club to the top of the Metro Division.
A minor adjustment in discipline would put them on the right side of a few more NHL scores and not be so reliant on Igor Shesterkin to bail them out. We continue our Rangers vs Sabres betting odds by turning our attention to the Sabres.
Sabres Playoff Drought Now At 13 Seasons
The Buffalo Sabres just signed Rasmus Dahlin to an 8-year deal and whether or not you agree with the money, the Sabres think they have their lockdown defensemen. They’ll also feature a brand new team dog named Blue. who is a beautiful St. Bernard and Great Dane mix.
In addition to Blue and Dahlin, you can bet that GM Kevyn Adams is hoping to add one more new piece of the puzzle and that’s a trip to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, something the team hasn’t done since 2010. Head Coach Don Granato will be relying on who he thinks will be the franchise goaltender in Devon Levi. In seven NHL starts, Levi is 5-2 with a 2.94 goals-against average.
To bettors, the Buffalo Sabres have been terrific to their bankroll with 12.21 units won over the last two pro hockey seasons despite a 74-90 record. It was the first time since 2009 and 2010 that the Sabres put together back-to-back winning seasons for the public.
The best part of the Sabres’ emergence is they keep all of their NHL draft picks to get better. They’ll have six picks in seven rounds next year and nine picks in the first seven rounds in 2025. The future is bright in Western New York but will it be on opening night? We conclude our Rangers vs Sabres betting odds with our official NHL betting prediction.
Expect Fireworks On Opening Night
The betting public is going to bet the over according to early patterns which is good news for us because we think there’ll be plenty of scoring. If you wait long enough, we suspect you won’t have to lay -112. Expect the number to come down to -110 before the puck drops. Bet the over 6.5. That does it for our Rangers vs Sabres betting odds, we wish you all the best with your wagers this season.
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