Red Wings vs Sabres Picks, Predictions & Odds Tonight

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05 December 2023

Red Wings vs Sabres Picks, Predictions & Odds Tonight

The Detroit Red Wings are much farther along in their rebuild than people expected, and the leap of Lucas Raymond sure helps. With the lowly Sabres on deck, our NHL picks are expecting Raymond to leave his mark tonight.

Photo By - USA TODAY Sports

The Detroit Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres face off in an Atlantic Division battle on Tuesday night in Buffalo. Detroit has soared to a 13-7-3 start while Buffalo is toward the bottom of the standings at 10-13-2.

NHL odds have pegged the red-hot Wings as road favorites while Buffalo continues to look for its footing. I've looked at the NHL player props for this affair and have found a player I'm confident in backing.

Find out who in my Red Wings vs. Sabres free NHL picks for this December 5 matchup.

Red Wings vs Sabres odds

Red Wings vs Sabres predictions

The Detroit Red Wings have been one of the most surprising teams in the Atlantic Division this season and currently have more points than both the Maple Leafs and Lightning. Detroit is ahead of schedule in its rebuild and showed that by landing Patrick Kane.

A big part of the Red Wings' early success has been a breakout season by 21-year-old forward Lucas Raymond.

After scoring at a respectable 0.65 point per game pace through his first two seasons, Raymond is up to nearly a point per contest with 19 (eight goals, 11 assists) in 23 games. Raymond is enjoying playing on the top line with Dylan Larkin and he's getting ice time on the top power-play unit as well.

Raymond has recorded a point in 14 of 23 games on the season, but he's really heating up as of late, registering a point in eight of his last nine contests.

The Red Wings are slight favorites tonight with the expectation to score at least three goals. The Buffalo Sabres have allowed 22 goals in their last five games as well, and Raymond should be able to get in on the action on the top line.

Betting Raymond to record a point at -115 has some decent value given the fact that his linemate Larkin is -230 to do the same.

My best bet: Lucas Raymond Over 0.5 points (-115 at DraftKings)

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Red Wings vs Sabres same-game parlay

Lucas Raymond Over 0.5 points

Red Wings moneyline

Under 6.5

30% boost available

The Sabres are in shambles this season, especially without last year's breakout star Tage Thompson. Jack Quinn is also out long-term now with Jordan Greenway questionable to play tonight. Meanwhile, Detroit is fully healthy and awaiting Kane's debut later this week.

The Red Wings aren't quite as good on the road (5-4-1) as at home (8-3-2), but they've put up some strong performances in recent away games. They're 2-1-1 in their last four including a win in Boston and a hard-fought loss against the Rangers. Buffalo won't pose as much of a threat tonight.

Alex Lyon (3-1-0, 1.26 GAA, .958 SV%) has been mighty impressive in net for Detroit and is confirmed to start tonight. He's allowed just two goals in his last three starts against the Blackhawks, Wild, and Devils.

The Sabres have had a few outlier games, but on the whole they haven't been great offensively recently. They scored three goals in their last two games after a nine-goal outburst in the previous two, and have been held to two goals or fewer in 11 of 25 games this season.

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Red Wings vs Sabres moneyline and Over/Under analysis

Detroit is now between -120 and -132 after opening at -115. In turn, the Sabres are up to +108 after opening at -104. The Red Wings have been getting the money and that’s not too surprising given how these teams have been playing.

The total is set at 6.5 across the board with the Over 6.5 at -110 and the Under 6.5 at +104. I’d take the Red Wings and the Under tonight along with the best best of Raymond to record a point.