We're roughly two-thirds of the way through the NHL season, and the race for the playoffs is starting to heat up. We have several high-leverage games on the ice tonight, and there's a plethora of ways to get in on the action from a sports betting perspective. Below I've narrowed in on my three favorite player props from PrizePicks. If all three props cash, they'll net us a 5x multiplier.
We're roughly two-thirds of the way through the NHL season, and the race for the playoffs is starting to heat up. We have several high-leverage games on the ice tonight, and there's a plethora of ways to get in on the action from a sports betting perspective. Below I've narrowed in on my three favorite player props from PrizePicks. If all three props cash, they'll net us a 5x multiplier.
Best NHL PrizePicks Player Projections
(Props courtesy of PrizePicks)
Clayton Keller More Than 0.5 Assists
The Utah Hockey Club (22-22-9) opens up a four-game road trip tonight, and the first stop is Columbus to take on the Blue Jackets (26-21-7). This cross-conference clash gets underway at 7:00 p.m. ET from Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH.
Utah's Clayton Keller is developing into one of the better passers in the NHL, and he's undoubtedly the face of this H.C. franchise. The first-line winger and top-unit power-play contributor has amassed 39 assists in 52 games played, and those 39 helpers are the 14th-most in the NHL. Keller logged an assist in Tuesday's 3-2 overtime win against the Flyers, giving him at least one apple in 16 out of his last 23 games (69.6%). I'll play the winger to notch another assist tonight.
This is a decent matchup against a Columbus club that's dropped two straight games, allowing an average of 4.0 goals per game during the stretch. Overall, the Blue Jackets are 30th in GAA (3.17) and 29th in SV% (.886). They also went without their top d-man, Zach Werenski, in their recent 3-2 loss to the Sabres, so there's a chance that they completely fall off if his injury (undisclosed) is a mid-to-long-term issue. All things considered, I like for Keller to add an assist tonight.
Pierre-Luc Dubois More Than 0.5 Points
The Capitals (35-11-7) continue to dominate the NHL landscape this year, as their 77 points are the second-most in the league (Jets, 79) this season. They'll try to pick up a second straight win tonight when they make the trip to the City of Brotherly Love to take on the Flyers (23-25-7). Puck drop is slated for 7:00 p.m. ET from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA.
One of the reasons for Washigton's sustained success this season is their second line, which continues to produce at a high rate. Pierre-Luc Dubois, who came over from the Kings in the offseason, is the centerman driving that line, where he's playing alongside Aliaksei Protas and Connor McMichael. Dubois is up to 42 points on the season, which have come via 12 goals and 30 assists. He has at least one point in four out of his last five games, as well as 17 of his last 23 contests (73.9%). This guy's lighting it up as the Caps continue their push for the President's Trophy.
Dubois is primed for another big night as his squad makes the trip to Philly. The Flyers are floundering, riding a four-game losing streak (0-3-1), while also having dropped six of their last seven (1-5-1). During the recent seven-game run, Philadelphia is conceding 3.4 goals per contest. They're now 27th in overall defense (3.09 GAA), and they continue to own the worst SV% (.878) in the NHL. Let's take Dubois to register a point tonight.
Filip Chytil More Than 0.5 Points
The Canucks (24-18-11) are coming off a nice 3-0 shutout win over the Avalanche on Tuesday, and they'll try to keep things rolling when they take on the lowly Sharks (15-34-6) tonight. This Pacific Division tilt gets underway at 10:30 p.m. ET from the SAP Center at San Jose in San Jose, CA.
Filip Chytil was the main return piece to Vancouver in the trade that sent J.T. Miller to New York last weekend. Chytil appears to be enjoying his new role as the Canucks second-line centerman, as he has scored one point in each of his first two games with Vancouver (1G, 1A). Considering this matchup against an abysmal San Jose defense, and the fact that Chytil is playing alongside a bonafide sniper in Brock Boeser, I anticipate him logging another point tonight. Let's round out our slip with Chytil to score a point.
Circling back to San Jose's terrible defense, they enter the night ranked dead last in GAA (3.42) and high-danger shots against (236), while sitting 30th in giveaways (864) and 27th in SV% (.887). The Sharks are currently riding a 1-8-0 stretch of play, where they're conceding 4.1 goals per game during the sample size! Look for the upward-trending Chytil to have his hand in a goal tonight.
