The NHL is back in action tonight, and the league rolls out a 10-game slate for us to navigate. I'm heading the player predictions route, and below I've listed my three favorite player predictions for PrizePicks. If all three cash, they'll net us a 5x multiplier.
The NHL is back in action tonight, and the league rolls out a 10-game slate for us to navigate. I'm heading the player predictions route, and below I've listed my three favorite player predictions for PrizePicks. If all three cash, they'll net us a 5x multiplier.
Thursday’s Best NHL PrizePicks Player Projections
Juraj Slafkovsky Less Than 0.5 Points
One of the under-the-radar matchups on tonight's NHL slate comes in Quebec, where the Canadiens (24-21-5) host the Wild (30-17-4) in what will be Marc-Andre Fleury's final game in his home province. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET from the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC.
Fleury’s a Quebec native, and being that this is the three-time Stanley Cup winner's final outing in front of his home crowd, I think he's going to put on a show. Fleury has been reliable when facing his hometown team throughout his career, logging a 2.91 GAA and .904 SV% over 47 games played. As for this season, Fleury is 10-5-1 with a 2.76 GAA and .904 SV%.
How can we take advantage of the celebratory night in Montreal? I'll look to fade Montreal's first-line winger, Juraj Slafkovsky, since I'm expecting a quality performance from Fleury. Like Fleury, Slafkovsky is a former first-overall pick in the NHL draft, but he's still getting his feet underneath him in the NHL. He has only 29 points (eight goals, 21 assists) across 47 games played this season. He's gone scoreless in four out of his last nine outings (44.4%). Let's take Slafkovsky to stay off the scoresheet tonight.
Ivan Barbashev More Than 0.5 Points
The Blue Jackets (24-19-7) open up a four-game road trip tonight, and the first stop is Sin City to take on the Golden Knights (31-15-5). This cross-conference clash gets underway at 10:00 p.m. ET from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV.
After running into some injury issues and tinkering with the lines, Coach Bruce Cassidy has finally reunited his top line featuring Ivan Barbashev, Jack Eichel and Mark Stone. I'll take this opportunity to back these guys on home ice, as I'm locking in Barbashev to score a point. The Russian-born winger has found success recently, logging one point in three out of his last four games (75%). He's up to 33 points across 41 games this season, which have come via 15 goals and 18 assists.
Additionally, I love this matchup as the Knights host a bottom-tier Jackets defense. Columbus has been a feisty bunch this year, but they're still just 30th in both GAA (3.20) and SV% (.885). Columbus has faced the ninth-most high-danger shots (116) during 5-on-5 play, which is where Barbashev gets most of his ice time. However, he is slotting in on the second power-play unit as well, and the Blue Jackets are just 26th on the penalty kill (74.82%). This should be a good spot for the Golden Knights to get back on track, and I believe that Barbashev is primed to contribute to a goal.
Mikael Granlund More Than 0.5 Points
The night wraps up in the Pacific Northwest, where the Kraken (22-27-3) host the Sharks (15-32-6) in a divisional tilt. This Pacific Division contest gets underway at 10:30 p.m. ET from Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, WA.
While the Sharks are clearly in rebuild mode and one of the worst teams in the NHL, they've had a few bright spots this season. One of those bright spots is veteran centerman Mikael Granlund, who has amassed 44 points (43rd in the NHL), which have come via 15 goals and 29 assists. The 32-year-old has at least one point in four out of his last five games (80%), so I'll play him to pick up another point tonight against the Kraken.
Seattle has had some issues with its defense and netminding, so much so they just waived veteran goalie Philipp Grubauer. While Joey Daccord is a clear step up in net, this Seattle backend is far from impenetrable. The Kraken are 22nd in GAA (2.92), 25th in SV% (.889), 22nd on the PK (77.39%) and they've faced the fourth-most high-danger shots (207) this season. Granlund and his linemates should get a few quality looks tonight. Let's back him to score a point.
Make sure to check out our other best bets for Thursday:
