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Believe it or not, the 2024-25 NHL season is already nearly here! The first puck drops internationally this year with the league beginning with the famous Global Series right from the jump.
On Friday, October 4, the New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres face off in Prague in the Czech Republic, and they’ll do so again the very next day. However, we’re focused on Friday’s season opener, providing our best Devils vs. Sabres predictions.
The Devils and Sabres will both be looking to get to the Stanley Cup playoffs after missing the postseason last year, but New Jersey has been such a difficult team to read as of late. After a few rough seasons, the Devils nearly won the Metro Division in 2022-23, but followed that up with yet another tough year last season.
Their slow start was largely attributed to star Jack Hughes getting injured, but they still never really found their form. However, there is reason for optimism in New Jersey with Jack’s younger brother, Luke, developing well and the signing of goaltender Jacob Markstrom this offseason.
New Jersey didn’t make massive splashes for their top lines, but with Timo Meier, Jesper Bratt and Nico Hischier all staying put, there didn’t seem to be a major reason to do so. The Devils also still have Dougie Hamilton on their top defensive line, who is able to put significant pressure on opposing goaltenders as one of the highest-volume shooters among defensemen.
As for the Sabres, missing the playoffs has unfortunately been something that fans in Buffalo have gotten accustomed to. While they too have hope for optimism moving forward, they also had one of the more puzzling moves over the summer.
The team decided to buy out Jeff Skinner’s contract. Now, there is no denying that his performance dropped off significantly last season, but the question is whether or not it was enough to be worth the massive cap hit.
Outside of that, they were able to grab Ryan McLeod from the Edmonton Oilers and Jason Zucker, but no blockbuster signings. What they did was put their faith in Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, re-signing the Finnish goaltender with a five-year deal.
Having not seen either team take the ice yet this season, or any team for that matter, along with the fact that this match is far from home, locking in Devils vs. Sabres predictions can certainly feel difficult. Not to worry – we’ve got you covered.
New Jersey is the clear favorite for this season opener, and frankly, that feels like the right side. However, given what we’ve seen from the Global Series recently, which is four games separated by one goal last year, and so much unknown, the value simply isn’t there. Instead, we’re focusing on the total.
We mentioned goaltenders when breaking down each team, and we don’t have the utmost faith in them. Markstrom has proven to be the stronger of the two, but he had far from his best year with the Calgary Flames last season, who also missed the playoffs.
As for Luukkonen, even Buffalo backers would admit that they may not be completely sold on him yet. Even if he does prove to be the better of the two, we saw the Devils allow the fifth-most goals per game last season. Along with all three meetings between these teams last year finishing with seven or more goals (two of which saw nine goals scored), this one has all the makings of a goal-fest.
Believe it or not, the 2024-25 NHL season is already nearly here! The first puck drops internationally this year with the league beginning with the famous Global Series right from the jump.
On Friday, October 4, the New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres face off in Prague in the Czech Republic, and they’ll do so again the very next day. However, we’re focused on Friday’s season opener, providing our best Devils vs. Sabres predictions.
The Devils and Sabres will both be looking to get to the Stanley Cup playoffs after missing the postseason last year, but New Jersey has been such a difficult team to read as of late. After a few rough seasons, the Devils nearly won the Metro Division in 2022-23, but followed that up with yet another tough year last season.
Their slow start was largely attributed to star Jack Hughes getting injured, but they still never really found their form. However, there is reason for optimism in New Jersey with Jack’s younger brother, Luke, developing well and the signing of goaltender Jacob Markstrom this offseason.
New Jersey didn’t make massive splashes for their top lines, but with Timo Meier, Jesper Bratt and Nico Hischier all staying put, there didn’t seem to be a major reason to do so. The Devils also still have Dougie Hamilton on their top defensive line, who is able to put significant pressure on opposing goaltenders as one of the highest-volume shooters among defensemen.
As for the Sabres, missing the playoffs has unfortunately been something that fans in Buffalo have gotten accustomed to. While they too have hope for optimism moving forward, they also had one of the more puzzling moves over the summer.
The team decided to buy out Jeff Skinner’s contract. Now, there is no denying that his performance dropped off significantly last season, but the question is whether or not it was enough to be worth the massive cap hit.
Outside of that, they were able to grab Ryan McLeod from the Edmonton Oilers and Jason Zucker, but no blockbuster signings. What they did was put their faith in Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, re-signing the Finnish goaltender with a five-year deal.
Having not seen either team take the ice yet this season, or any team for that matter, along with the fact that this match is far from home, locking in Devils vs. Sabres predictions can certainly feel difficult. Not to worry – we’ve got you covered.
New Jersey is the clear favorite for this season opener, and frankly, that feels like the right side. However, given what we’ve seen from the Global Series recently, which is four games separated by one goal last year, and so much unknown, the value simply isn’t there. Instead, we’re focusing on the total.
We mentioned goaltenders when breaking down each team, and we don’t have the utmost faith in them. Markstrom has proven to be the stronger of the two, but he had far from his best year with the Calgary Flames last season, who also missed the playoffs.
As for Luukkonen, even Buffalo backers would admit that they may not be completely sold on him yet. Even if he does prove to be the better of the two, we saw the Devils allow the fifth-most goals per game last season. Along with all three meetings between these teams last year finishing with seven or more goals (two of which saw nine goals scored), this one has all the makings of a goal-fest.
Believe it or not, the 2024-25 NHL season is already nearly here! The first puck drops internationally this year with the league beginning with the famous Global Series right from the jump.
On Friday, October 4, the New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres face off in Prague in the Czech Republic, and they’ll do so again the very next day. However, we’re focused on Friday’s season opener, providing our best Devils vs. Sabres predictions.
The Devils and Sabres will both be looking to get to the Stanley Cup playoffs after missing the postseason last year, but New Jersey has been such a difficult team to read as of late. After a few rough seasons, the Devils nearly won the Metro Division in 2022-23, but followed that up with yet another tough year last season.
Their slow start was largely attributed to star Jack Hughes getting injured, but they still never really found their form. However, there is reason for optimism in New Jersey with Jack’s younger brother, Luke, developing well and the signing of goaltender Jacob Markstrom this offseason.
New Jersey didn’t make massive splashes for their top lines, but with Timo Meier, Jesper Bratt and Nico Hischier all staying put, there didn’t seem to be a major reason to do so. The Devils also still have Dougie Hamilton on their top defensive line, who is able to put significant pressure on opposing goaltenders as one of the highest-volume shooters among defensemen.
As for the Sabres, missing the playoffs has unfortunately been something that fans in Buffalo have gotten accustomed to. While they too have hope for optimism moving forward, they also had one of the more puzzling moves over the summer.
The team decided to buy out Jeff Skinner’s contract. Now, there is no denying that his performance dropped off significantly last season, but the question is whether or not it was enough to be worth the massive cap hit.
Outside of that, they were able to grab Ryan McLeod from the Edmonton Oilers and Jason Zucker, but no blockbuster signings. What they did was put their faith in Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, re-signing the Finnish goaltender with a five-year deal.
Having not seen either team take the ice yet this season, or any team for that matter, along with the fact that this match is far from home, locking in Devils vs. Sabres predictions can certainly feel difficult. Not to worry – we’ve got you covered.
New Jersey is the clear favorite for this season opener, and frankly, that feels like the right side. However, given what we’ve seen from the Global Series recently, which is four games separated by one goal last year, and so much unknown, the value simply isn’t there. Instead, we’re focusing on the total.
We mentioned goaltenders when breaking down each team, and we don’t have the utmost faith in them. Markstrom has proven to be the stronger of the two, but he had far from his best year with the Calgary Flames last season, who also missed the playoffs.
As for Luukkonen, even Buffalo backers would admit that they may not be completely sold on him yet. Even if he does prove to be the better of the two, we saw the Devils allow the fifth-most goals per game last season. Along with all three meetings between these teams last year finishing with seven or more goals (two of which saw nine goals scored), this one has all the makings of a goal-fest.
Mark has been a lifelong fan of all sports, and five years ago turned it into a profession, specializing in the NFL, NHL and MLB. He is a diehard Baltimore Ravens fan and has had his work published in sites such as Sports Illustrated, Pickswise and other top outlets.