{"id":458206,"date":"2024-12-11T08:00:44","date_gmt":"2024-12-11T13:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=458206"},"modified":"2024-12-10T21:52:21","modified_gmt":"2024-12-11T02:52:21","slug":"nhl-predictions-dec-11-new-york-rangers-vs-buffalo-sabres","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/12\/11\/nhl-predictions-dec-11-new-york-rangers-vs-buffalo-sabres\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Predictions: Dec. 11 New York Rangers vs Buffalo Sabres"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome back to the return of NHL Predictions. Each day,\u00a0<em>Last Word on Hockey<\/em>\u00a0takes a look at the games that are happening and gives our predictions for each one, breaking down head-to-head matchups and other factors that may play in. We also have a featured game of the day, which is considered must-watch TV. Today\u2019s featured game is the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/12\/10\/rangers-at-a-crossroads-major-changes-loom-as-slump-deepens\/\" target=\"_self\">New York Rangers<\/a> vs <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/11\/01\/nhl-rumours-buffalo-sabres-active-in-the-trade-market\/\" target=\"_self\">Buffalo Sabres.<\/a>\u00a0Be sure to check out more\u00a0NHL predictions\u00a0in the coming days as the 2024-25 season continues.<\/p>\n<h2>NHL Predictions<\/h2>\n<h3>New York Rangers vs Buffalo Sabres<\/h3>\n<h4>Head-to-Head: Rangers 0-1 Sabres<\/h4>\n<p><strong>Time:<\/strong> 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)<\/p>\n<p><strong>TV:<\/strong> TNT; TruTV; Max<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s a light night in the NHL, but this carries a lot of weight for these two New York teams. Both the Rangers and the Sabres are limping into this matchup coming into this nationally televised game. These two clubs had<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/09\/19\/puck-drop-preview-2024-25-new-york-rangers-season\/\" target=\"_self\"> differing sets of expectations,<\/a> but both teams are <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/09\/03\/puck-drop-preview-2024-25-buffalo-sabres\/\" target=\"_self\">falling well short of them.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Rangers and the Sabres are both coming off disappointing performances on Monday night. New York is coming off a lethargic 2-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. Buffalo lost a 6-5 shootout to the Detroit Red Wings.<\/p>\n<p>Both teams are desperate for victories and need a win in the worst way. Let&#8217;s take a look at this important matchup between the Rangers and Sabres in this round of NHL predictions.<\/p>\n<h4>The Rangers Story<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/s\/shestig01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-12-10_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Igor Shesterkin<\/a> is expected to get the start, but always check social media before locking in a fantasy starter. New York is 2-8 in the last 10 games and have dropped two in a row. The offence dried up in the last game and head coach <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/l\/laviope01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-12-10_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Peter Laviolette<\/a> was displeased with his club after Monday&#8217;s loss.<\/p>\n<p>New York was routed the last time the two teams played on November 7 when Buffalo rolled to a 6-1 victory. The Blueshirts will have to be much better in order to finally avenge one of the team&#8217;s most-embarrassing losses of the season.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/f\/foxad01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-12-10_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Adam Fox<\/a> has 22 assists so far for the Rangers. Artemi Panarin has been consistent most of the season and has scored five goals with five assists over the last 10 games.<\/p>\n<h4>The Sabres Story<\/h4>\n<p>As bad as things are for the Rangers, they&#8217;re much worse for the Sabres. Buffalo did put up a ton of goals against Detroit. However, the team has still lost seven in a row.<\/p>\n<p>The Sabres had come into this season with some promise, but it seems that the club is failing at all levels. Buffalo General Manager <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/a\/adamske01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-12-10_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kevyn Adams<\/a> had a disastrous press conference last week complaining about taxes and palm trees.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/z\/zuckeja01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-12-10_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jason Zucker<\/a> has been a bright spot with seven goals and 13 assists for the Sabres. Tage Thompson has continued his strong play during the season with six goals over the last 10 games.<\/p>\n<h3>Prediction<\/h3>\n<p>The days of ties are over, so there must be a winner. Buffalo did look better in the first meeting of the season, but New York is a better team on paper.<\/p>\n<p>There also should be some motivation after Laviolette called out his club in the media.<\/p>\n<p><em>Prediction: Rangers win 4-2.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>Prop Bets of the Night<\/h3>\n<p>We round out NHL predictions with some prop bets. On the Rangers side, go with Vincent Trocheck as an anytime goalscorer at +220 at FanDuel. For Buffalo, take <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/t\/tuchal01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-12-10_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Alex Tuch<\/a> to score at any time at +240. This is also via FanDuel.<\/p>\n<p><em>Main photo by: Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-273541d7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-theme-post-content\" data-id=\"273541d7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"theme-post-content.default\">\n<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n<p><strong><em>Please play responsibly, check for your local rules and age restrictions, some jurisdictions require ages 21+. Gambling\u00a0<span class=\"s15\"><span class=\"bumpedFont15\">problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome back to the return of NHL Predictions. Each day,\u00a0Last Word on Hockey\u00a0takes a look at the games that are happening and gives our predictions for each one, breaking down head-to-head matchups and other factors that may play in. We also have a featured game of the day, which is considered must-watch TV. Today\u2019s featured [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2352,"featured_media":455506,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4547,14,4548,4524],"tags":[6254,5168,6122,1547],"class_list":["post-458206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sabres","category-hockey","category-rangers","category-nhl","category-nhl-predictions","tag-buffalo-sabres-predictions","tag-kevyn-adams","tag-new-york-rangers-predictions","tag-peter-laviolette"],"modified_by":"Tommy Bennett","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2352"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=458206"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458206\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":458237,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458206\/revisions\/458237"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/455506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=458206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=458206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=458206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}