{"id":458582,"date":"2024-12-15T08:00:36","date_gmt":"2024-12-15T13:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=458582"},"modified":"2024-12-14T23:13:39","modified_gmt":"2024-12-15T04:13:39","slug":"nhl-predictions-dec-15-buffalo-sabres-vs-toronto-maple-leafs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/12\/15\/nhl-predictions-dec-15-buffalo-sabres-vs-toronto-maple-leafs\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Predictions: Dec 15 Buffalo Sabres vs Toronto Maple Leafs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome back to the return of NHL Predictions. Each day,\u00a0Last Word on Hockey<\/em> takes 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 Buffalo Sabres<\/a> vs Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a>.\u00a0Be sure to check out more\u00a0NHL predictions\u00a0in the coming days as the 2024-25 season continues.<\/p>\n

NHL Predictions<\/h2>\n

New York Islanders vs Chicago Blackhawks<\/h3>\n

Head-to-Head: Islanders 1-0 Blackhawks<\/h4>\n

Time:<\/strong> 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)<\/p>\n

TV:<\/strong> Chicago Sports Network; Sportsnet; MSGSN; NHL Network<\/p>\n

Our opening game of NHL predictions has the New York Islanders<\/a> taking on the Chicago Blackhawks.<\/a> The two teams played just a few days ago with the Isles coming away with the win. Ilya Sorokin is the confirmed starter for the Islanders, who are 4-4-2 in the last 10 games. Anders Lee<\/a> is first in goals (13) and points (25) for New York.<\/p>\n

Arvid Soderblom<\/a> is the projected starter for Chicago, which is 2-7-1 in the last 10 games. The Blackhawks are tied for 30th in goals scored per game with 2.45 per game. Ryan Donato is first in goals with 10, but Connor Bedard is tops in assists (18) and points (24).<\/p>\n

Both teams struggle to score goals, but the Islanders get the victory.<\/p>\n

Prediction: Islanders win 3-1.<\/p>\n

Buffalo Sabres vs Toronto Maple Leafs<\/h3>\n

Time:<\/strong> 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)<\/p>\n

TV:<\/strong> MSG Buffalo, TSN4; ESPN+<\/p>\n

Our featured game of NHL predictions has the old QEW rivals get together. Buffalo is falling apart this season with nine straight losses. The Sabres will likely turn to James Reimer in goal to try to stem the tide. Tage Thompson<\/a> is first on the club in goals with 16 and Alex Tuch\u00a0is tops in assists (16) and points (24).<\/p>\n

Dennis Hildeby<\/span> is the projected starter with Toronto coming off back-to-back games. The Leafs two-game winning streak was stopped by the Detroit Red Wings<\/a> on Saturday night. William Nylander leads the team in goals with 18 while Mitch Marner<\/a> has 28 assists and 38 points.<\/p>\n

Toronto will come out firing after a lethargic performance on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Prediction: Maple Leafs win 5-2.<\/em><\/p>\n

Vegas Golden Knights vs Minnesota Wild<\/h3>\n

Time:<\/strong> 6 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)<\/p>\n

TV:<\/strong> Fan Duel Sports North; Fan Duel Sports Wisconsin; Scripps Vegas; NHL Network<\/p>\n

Our last game of NHL predictions has the Vegas Golden Knights<\/a> visiting the Minnesota Wild<\/a>. Vegas is coming off a 6-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers the day before. Ilya Samsonov<\/span> is the expected starter for the Golden Knights. Ivan Barbashev is first on the team in goals with 15 while Jack Eichel is tops in assists (31) and points (40).<\/p>\n

Minnesota is coming off a victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday. Filip Gustavsson<\/a><\/span> is the likely starter for the Wild, who are 7-3 in the last 10 games. Kirill Kaprizov is leading in goals (20), assists (25) and points (45) for Minnesota.<\/p>\n

Both teams are coming off back-to-backs, but Minnesota gets the win.<\/p>\n

Prediction: Wild win 3-2.<\/em><\/p>\n

Prop Bets of the Night<\/h3>\n

We finish up NHL predictions with some prop bets of the night. The under of the Islanders and Blackhawks game is at 5.5, but we think that’s a good play. A number of places are giving the under at +100 for this game.<\/p>\n

Main photo by: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n

Please play responsibly, check for your local rules and age restrictions, some jurisdictions require ages 21+. Gambling\u00a0problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome back to the return of NHL Predictions. Each day,\u00a0Last Word on Hockey takes 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2352,"featured_media":135755,"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":[3,4547,4548,4524,18],"tags":[6254,6233,6012,6084,6062,6019],"class_list":["post-458582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sabres","category-hockey","category-nhl","category-nhl-predictions","category-leafs","tag-buffalo-sabres-predictions","tag-chicago-blackhawks-predictions","tag-minnesota-wild-predictions","tag-new-york-islanders-predictions","tag-toronto-maple-leafs-predictions","tag-vegas-golden-knights-predictions"],"modified_by":"Tommy Bennett","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458582","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=458582"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458582\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":458592,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458582\/revisions\/458592"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/135755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=458582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=458582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=458582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}