Join Canada Sports Betting’s Nick Martin as he handicaps the best NHL player prop bets available from Wednesday’s five-game slate.
Best bet-Nico Hischier Over 2.5 Shots on Goal: +110
Nico Hischier over 2.5 shots on goal
Based on Wednesday’s morning skate, it appears as though New Jersey Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe will be sticking with a stacked top line of Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, and Timo Meier in Wednesday’s matchup versus the Dallas Stars.
Targeting the Devils’ top unit in the prop market has been a great strategy recently. Not only is the Devils’ top trio dominating the opposition, but they are also playing big minutes because the lineup becomes quite top-heavy with Jack Hughes sidelined due to injury and each of the top three remaining forwards playing on one unit.
There’s a case to be made for backing a number of props involving Hischier, Bratt and Meier in Wednesday’s matchup, but backing Hischier to record over 2.5 shots on goal is once again the one that sticks out the most to me. Hischier has recorded over 2.5 shots on goal in six of nine games played since the start of Hughes’s absence and has averaged 5.55 shot attempts per game in that span.
Playing alongside one of the game’s best playmakers in Bratt certainly helps Hischier’s shot volume, and he is also getting more touches on the top power-play unit with Hughes out of the mix.
A home matchup versus the Stars, who will be playing the second leg of a back-to-back, is a perfectly suitable spot to back Hischier in this market. Though the Stars are obviously an excellent team, they have allowed 26.9 shots against per 60 since in the seven games they have played since Thomas Harley’s injury, which puts them safely in the middle of the pack. They have the goaltending and finishing capability to win any matchup, but have not been a defensive juggernaut in terms of shot suppression recently.
Best bet-Daniil But To Score: +400
Daniil But to score vs. Ducks
In an effort to jumpstart what has been a lethargic offensive attack, the Utah Mammoth have called up 2023 12th overall pick Daniil But from the AHL, after he put up eight goals in 19 games with the Tucson Roadrunners this season. The Roadrunners have scored only 2.94 goals per game this season, and But leads the team in both goals and points scored.
There’s obviously a huge jump from the AHL to the NHL, but the Mammoth are giving But a good chance to succeed in starting him on the second line alongside Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther, as well as on the second power-play unit.
With Lukas Dostal sidelined, the Ducks provide a pretty strong matchup for But to break through with a goal in his first NHL game. The Ducks have allowed 3.65 xGA/60 over the last 10 games, which is the seventh-worst mark in the NHL. Ville Husso has been respectable with a +0.6 GSAx and .880 save percentage in three appearances this season, but held a -4.9 GSAx in 13 appearances last season and is certainly not a goaltender that we are afraid to fade.
But may succeed at the NHL level,and he may not. Considering the matchup, his expected role, and the +400 price tag, I’m happy to take a shot that the talented young winger nets one in his first NHL game Wednesday.
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