Buffalo Sabres 2025-26 NHL Betting Lines
The Buffalo Sabres are still in the wilderness, and there is no guarantee that they will find their way out in the upcoming NHL season. The Sabres missed the playoffs for the 14th consecutive season last year. The second coming of head coach Lindy Ruff proved fruitless, and the season was lost at the midway point. Owner Terry Pegula grew up on the Sabres and was touted as the savior of the franchise. Instead, Buffalo has one of the worst-run organizations in pro sports. However, a quietly yet promising offseason does give fans and gamblers hope for better days ahead.
NHL Betting Lines
Team Overview
To conclude the regular season, the Buffalo Sabres were 36-39-7 straight up and 46-29-7 over/under the total. Buffalo was also 14th in the Eastern Conference playoff standings, 32 points behind the Washington Capitals.
Buffalo had NHL rankings of 10th for goals scored and 24th for power play efficiency. In comparison, on defense, the Sabres had NHL rankings of 30th for goals against and 24th for penalty killing.
Hope Returns to the Harbor!
Dark horse or déjà vu? Bet Buffalo Sabres 2025-26 NHL Odds at BookMaker—money lines, puck lines, totals, player props, and Stanley Cup futures all season long.
* Trusted by sharp bettors for over 30 years
* Early odds, fast payouts, and Bitcoin betting
* Live betting and mobile-optimized sportsbook
* Don’t just watch the action — bet on it!
* Sign Up Now and lock in your Sabres picks today!
Off-Season Moves for 2025-26
In: Josh Doan, Justin Danforth, Michael Kesselring, Conor Timmins, Alex Lyon
Out: JJ Peterka, Sam Lafferty, Connor Clifton, Jacob Bernard-Docker
There are a lot of folks who haven’t been thrilled with Buffalo’s offseason, and that’s understandable. For the third straight year, it feels like it’s time to push the chips in, spend some money, and gun for a playoff spot. Instead, the Sabres made depth moves and shipped off a true top-six scorer without addressing the void afterward. To some, it may seem like a wasted opportunity, but a closer look reveals potential.
Of course, betting on the Sabres has been a terrible idea for over a decade. But maybe this is the year Buffalo does turn the corner, thanks to internal jumps buoyed by cleaned-up depth.
Josh Doan is not as good as JJ Peterka. That’s a downgrade without question. However, his underrated defensive game, compared to Peterka’s issues without the puck, does mean the gap might not be as large as their point totals suggest. Add more Justin Danforth and less Beck Malenstyn on the fourth line, and it’s possible the Sabres can cover up the loss in the aggregate. There is arguably enough young, developing forward depth to sustain a loss of Peterka's magnitude.
The more important factor, though, is that the jump from Connor Clifton to Michael Kesselring is substantially larger than the drop from Peterka to Doan. Buffalo’s defense corps was a major weakness last season, one that Kesselring’s presence can help fix. He did well in a top-pair role when Utah ran into injuries last season, enough to believe he’s a true top-four defenseman. Pair him with Owen Power and Buffalo’s top four looks genuinely decent for the first time in a long time.
The addition of Conor Timmins should also help. He showed some promise in an elevated role with Pittsburgh, enough to believe he can form an actually good third pair with the defensively stout Mattias Samuelsson. Timmins isn’t much, but he’s probably a better option than what Buffalo was toiling with last year in the same role.
Defensive depth has been missing from this team for a while. If everything goes as planned after this offseason, it will finally become a strength for Buffalo. And that could be the key to changing everything for the team. The Sabres have moved from having one strong pair led by Rasmus Dahlin to potentially having three.
Key Players
RW Alex Tuch was a key asset for the Sabres last year. Tuch scored 22 goals with 37 assists for 59 points and a +9 in 2024. However, it was a regression from the 2022-23 season, when Tuch scored 36 goals, added 43 assists, and totaled 79 points, along with a plus-14 rating. In 2024-25, Touch has 36 goals, 31 assists, 67 points, and a plus-16 rating.
D Rasmus Dahlin scored 20 goals, 39 assists, 59 points, and a -3 in 2023-24. He has played in the last three All-Star games. In 2024-25, he scored 17 goals, recorded 51 assists, and finished with 68 points, all while maintaining a +11 rating.
C Tage Thompson was coming off a decent 2024 season with 29 goals, 27 assists, 56 points, and a -1. However, Thompson scored 47 goals with 47 assists, 94 points, and a +4 the season before that. In 2021-22, Thompson scored 38 goals with 30 assists. In 2024-25, Thompson came back with 44 goals, 28 assists, 72 points, and a -2.
Goaltenders
Number one goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was 27-22 in 2024, with a 2.57 goals against average and a .910 save percentage, including five shutouts. In 2024-25, he has a 2.99 goals against average with a save percentage of .897. His record is 15-14-4 with two shutouts.
Head Coach
Head coach Lindy Ruff played for the Sabres from 1979 through 1993 and then coached them from 1997 through 2013. In his first stint as head coach, he compiled a record of 571-432-78. Ruff's career record of 900-718-78-160, with 11 playoff campaigns.
Season-by-Season Record (Last 7)
| SEASON |
GAMES |
WINS |
LOSSES |
FINISH |
PLAYOFFS |
| 2024–25 |
82 |
36 |
39 |
7th, Atlantic |
Did not qualify |
| 2023–24 |
82 |
39 |
37 |
6th, Atlantic |
Did not qualify |
| 2022–23 |
82 |
42 |
33 |
5th, Atlantic |
Did not qualify |
| 2021–22 |
82 |
32 |
39 |
5th, Atlantic |
Did not qualify |
| 2020–21 |
56 |
15 |
34 |
8th, East |
Did not qualify |
| 2019–20 |
69 |
30 |
31 |
6th, Atlantic |
Did not qualify |
| 2018–19 |
82 |
33 |
39 |
6th, Atlantic |
Did not qualify |
Buffalo Sabres History
Founded in 1970 as part of the NHL’s Great Expansion Era, the Sabres have never won the Stanley Cup. Their Glory years were in the mid-to-late 1970s, led by the famed “French Connection” line of Gilbert Perrault, René Robert, and Rick Martin. That team lost the 1975 Stanley Cup Final to the Philadelphia Flyers. That era saw sellout crowds, and that team remains the most iconic in franchise history. Perrault is considered the greatest Sabre ever. The French Connection has a retired banner that hangs in the rafters and a statue outside the KeyBank Center in its honor.
Goaltender Dominik Hasek backstopped the Sabres to the 1999 Stanley Cup Final, which they lost to the Dallas Stars.
Owner Terry Pegula purchased the team in 2010 and was celebrated as the local boy who had made good, promising to save the franchise from its losing ways. Pegula promised to spend whatever was necessary and that the entire purpose of the Sabres was to win the Stanley Cup championships. Instead, the Sabres have not made the playoffs since Pegula’s rookie season as owner. Although Pegula has not operated on a tight budget, the harder he tries, the worse the team performs.
The 2022-23 season marked the first one since 1970-71 that legendary fan-favorite Rick Jeanneret was not on the air as a play-by-play announcer. He has since passed away, but will not be forgotten.
NHL Teams
Eastern Conference - Atlantic
Eastern Conference - Metropolitan
Western Conference - Central
Western Conference - Pacific
Did You Know?
At BookMaker, we go beyond just providing top-notch sports betting options! Take advantage of these exclusive features and rewards:
BookMaker ATM Card for seamless transactions: Easily access your funds with the BookMaker ATM card, providing instant access to your winnings and secure transactions wherever you go.
Loyalty Levels & BetPoints Programs for additional rewards: Earn BetPoints as you bet, and unlock exciting perks at higher loyalty levels. The more you play, the more you earn!
Seasonal and Reload Bonuses to maximize your earnings: Stay ahead with seasonal promotions and reload bonuses, boosting your bankroll throughout the year.
Early Cashout Option for added flexibility: Cash out your bet early and lock in profits or limit losses—putting you in control of your wagers.
Free Crypto Payouts for fast and secure withdrawals: Enjoy fast, secure withdrawals with zero fees when you choose crypto payouts.
Open Play Option for unique parlay betting: Get creative with your parlays using the Open Play option, offering more ways to win.
Casino Promotions & Contests for extra fun and wins: Join in on exclusive casino promotions and contests, adding excitement to your betting experience.
8% Cash Back on all your horse racing bets: Place horse racing bets and get 8% cash back on your losses, making it easier to bounce back.
Explore all these benefits and more at BookMaker!
Betting Rules & Policies
Free Play Rules
- Free plays cannot be used on proposition bets.
- Free Plays do not earn any BetPoints™
- Bets made using Free Plays do not count towards completing any rollovers. (Free Plays are always subject to a rollover of their own. You must complete the required rollover prior to making a withdrawal).
- The maximum payout for any Free Play is $5,000.
- Free Plays that are left unused for 180 days will be removed from your account.
ROLLOVER
- Did you know that on all deposits made at BookMaker, there is a rollover requirement: an amount of betting action you must fulfill before you are eligible to make a withdrawal.
- Did you know that rollovers are calculated by multiplying the amount initially credited to your account a certain number of times? Yes! If you deposit without claiming any bonus, the rollover will always be 1x (one-time) your deposit amount. If you do claim a deposit bonus, the rollover will be higher and is based on the deposit plus bonus amount.
Wager disputes (claims)
If you disagree with any aspect of a wager you’ve placed, you are welcome to log an official dispute (commonly known as a “claim”). Claims must be reported no later than 15 (fifteen) calendar days following the settlement of the wager.
If following an initial review of the case there remains any doubt regarding the wager type, line, market, amount, or any other detail, the claim will be escalated to the BookMaker management team. All decisions made by them are final.
Wager Cash Out - How it works
With the Cash Out feature you can choose to eliminate a wager that's already been placed, and receive back either a portion, or your full stake amount.
Cash Out is selectively available on certain events, fixtures, and markets.
In order to see if a wager is eligible to be cashed out, simply navigate to your Bet Slip and check the 'My Open Bets' tab. If eligible, the Cash Out button will be displayed.
It’s also important to note that Cash Out is not contributing to any bonus or promotion including Bet Point accumulation and Rollover for releasing bonus cash.
