Buffalo Sabres vs New Jersey Devils Prediction 12/21/2025 Today’s NHL Picks
Chris Ruffolo
Dec 14, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Buffalo Sabres center Tage Thompson (72) looks on before a face off during the first period against the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Blake Dahlin-Imagn Images
MATCHUP
Buffalo Sabres
New Jersey Devils
Team Records
16-14-4
20-14-1
Spread
+1.5 -185
-1.5 154
Moneyline
+140
-166
Total
Over 6.5 (-105)
Under 6.5 (-115)
Where
Prudential Center, Newark, NJ
When
Sunday, December 21, 2025
Time
07:00 PM EST
TV
ESPN+
The Buffalo Sabres and the New Jersey Devils meet Sunday in NHL action from the Prudential Center. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Buffalo Sabres vs. New Jersey Devils prediction.
Buffalo Sabres Recap
The Buffalo Sabres come into this game looking to add on to their 3-2 shootout win over the Islanders last time out to improve to 16-14-4 this season. After this game, Buffalo will head on the road for a game against the Ottawa Senators.
Sabres Win 5 In A Row
Tage Thompson leads the Sabres in scoring with 31 points coming on a team-high 18 goals and 13 assists while Alex Tuch has 29 points with 11 goals and 18 assists and Rasmus Dahlin has 27 points with a team-high 23 assists. Josh Doan has 24 points with 10 goals and 14 assists and Ryan McLeod has 18 points with 6 goals and 12 assists. Jason Zucker has 18 points with 9 goals and 9 assists while Jack Quinn’s added 18 points with 7 goals and 11 assists this season. Alex Lyon has gone 8-6-3 with a 2.92 GAA and a .906 save percentage in goal for Buffalo while Colten Ellis is 4-3 with a 3.25 GAA and an .895 save percentage so far this season. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has gone 4-5-1 with a 2.91 GAA and an .884 save percentage up to this point in the year.
New Jersey Devils Recap
The New Jersey Devils come into this game looking to add on to their 2-1 win over Utah last time out to sit at 20-14-1 this season. After this game, New Jersey will head on the road for a game against the New York Islanders.
Devils Win Back-To-Back Games
Jesper Bratt leads the Devils in scoring with 29 points including 6 goals and a team-high 23 assists while Jack Hughes has 20 points with 10 goals and 10 assists. Dawson Mercer has 22 points with 10 goals and 12 assists and Nico Hischier has 28 points with 10 goals and 18 assists this season. Timo Meier has 23 points with 11 goals and 12 assists while Simon Nemec has 18 points with 7 goals and 11 assists. Luke Hughes has 19 points with 16 assists and Arseny Gritsyuk has 16 points with 7 goals and 9 assists. Jake Allen has gone 10-7 with a 2.49 GAA and a .912 save percentage while Jacob Markstrom has gone 9-7-1 with a 3.40 GAA and an .881 save percentage and Nico Daws has 1-0 with a 1.00 GAA and a .968 save percentage this season.
Buffalo Sabres @ New Jersey Devils Betting Trends: December 21, 2025
Why the New Jersey Devils will win
The Sabres have lost each of their last six road games following a home win.
The Devils have won four of their last five games against the Sabres at Prudential Center.
The Sabres have failed to cover the puck line in eight of their last nine night games against Metropolitan Division opponents.
The Devils have covered the puck line in three of their last four games.
The Sabres have lost the third period in seven of their last eight games as road underdogs when tied after the second period.
Why the Buffalo Sabres will win
The Devils have lost five of their last six games as favorites.
The underdogs have won each of the Devils’ last three games.
The Devils have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last nine night games at Prudential Center.
The road team has covered the puck line in 12 of the Devils’ last 14 games.
The Devils have lost the second period in six of their last seven games as home favorites against Eastern Conference opponents when leading after the first period.
Total Goals Facts
Eight of the Sabres’ last nine games on the second leg of a back-to-back have gone OVER the total goals line.
Each of the Devils’ last four games have gone UNDER the total goals line.
The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 2′ market has hit in each of the Sabres’ last nine games.
The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 3’ market has hit in each of the last nine games between the Sabres and Devils.
New Jersey Devils Player Prop Facts
Timo Meier has scored a goal in each of the Devils’ last six games as favorites against Eastern Conference opponents.
Nico Hischier has recorded an assist in each of the Devils’ last five games as favorites against Eastern Conference opponents.
Ondrej Palat has recorded two assists against the Sabres this season – equal-most against any opponent.
Buffalo Sabres Player Prop Facts
Alex Tuch has recorded at least one assist in seven of the Sabres’ last eight games as underdogs against the Devils.
Tage Thompson has scored a goal in each of the Sabres’ last six games.
Tage Thompson has scored a goal in each of his last six appearances – longest active streak in the league.
Matchup/League Facts
The New Jersey Devils rank 27th in the league in penalty kill percentage this season (75.76%).
The New Jersey Devils rank T25th in the league for goals per game this season (2.80).
The Buffalo Sabres rank 1st in the league in penalty kill percentage this season (84.85%).
The Buffalo Sabres rank 26th in the league for goals against per game this season (3.35).
Buffalo Sabres vs. New Jersey Devils Prediction
I’m on Buffalo and the plus money here. I haven’t been the biggest fan of the Sabres on the road early on this year, but it would be ignorant to just look past how well the Sabres have been playing as of late. I get that New Jersey’s solid and have been at their best at home, but the Sabres are looking good right now and are worth a shot at this plus price.
