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-Alex DeBrincat Anytime Goal-Scorer: +135
Alex DeBrincat to score a goal
Detroit’s dynamic duo of DeBrincat and Patrick Kane has been one of the hottest tandems in the league of late, and the timing of Kane’s recent upper-body injury is certainly disappointing for a number of reasons. The future Hall-of-Famer is just eight points back of Mike Modano for second in all-time NHL scoring among American-born skaters, and if he can stay healthy for the majority of the season, he will have a chance to break Brett Hull’s record this year.
Though Kane and DeBrincat have shown excellent chemistry this season, DeBrincat still recorded two goals in last night’s win over the New York Islanders with Kane on the sidelines from a lofty total of 14 attempts on goal. Many of those chances came on Detroit’s high-quality power play, but the Red Wings’ new-look second line of DeBrincat, Andrew Copp and John Leonard actually fared quite well in even-strength play, finishing with a 74.4% expected goal share in 11:23 of ice time while generating some high-quality looks.
It’s surprising to see that DeBrincat is still priced at +135 to score in Wednesday’s matchup, which was the same price we got him at on December 2nd. DeBrincat has scored seven goals in seven games since we last backed this prop, and he continues to generate among the most scoring chances in the NHL, which makes me believe it’s worth riding out his current heater.
Over the last 20 games, DeBrincat has generated 11.23 expected goals and netted 11 goals where it counts. Given that this prop is still priced at +135, those marks are highly encouraging, and the Utah Mammoth offer a solid matchup. Since November 17th, the Mammoth have allowed 3.56 xGA/60 in 17 matchups and 2.96 goals against per game where it counts.
At +135, we are getting a good price to back one of the game’s most talented shooters while he’s in the midst of one of the hottest runs of his career.
Best bet-Nico Hischier Over 2.5 Shots on Goal: +145
Nico Hischier over 2.5 shots on goal
With Timo Meier out of the lineup for personal reasons, Jack Hughes still sidelined, and Arseny Gritsyuk now also sidelined for personal reasons, there will be a ton of pressure on the Devils’ top line of Hischier, Jesper Bratt and Dawson Mercer to generate some offence Wednesday in a tough matchup versus the Vegas Golden Knights.
The rest of New Jersey’s forward corps currently looks quite barren, so if head coach Sheldon Keefe is going to stack his top three remaining forwards on one unit, it’s a safe bet that that trio should get heavy usage, and it is a unit capable of faring well in even the toughest matchups.
In a small sample of 26.6 minutes of play, Hischier, Bratt, and Mercer hold a 73.3% expected goal share and have generated 71.52 shot attempts per 60 this season.
In the 15 matchups the Devils have played since Hughes went on the IR, Hischier has recorded over 2.5 shots on goal nine times, including four shots on goal when these two sides faced off in New Jersey on December 5th. He’s averaged 5.5 shot attempts per game in that span, which is a solid output, especially given that he does not typically attempt many meaningless shots from a distance that are less likely to reach the target.
The Knights provide a tough matchup in that they typically suppress opponents’ shot volume effectively, but this prop is up at +145 as a result, when it’s typically been closer to +115 in the majority of recent matchups. The Knights could also be a slightly better matchup if one or both of Jack Eichel and Shea Theodore are to miss this matchup, and both are listed as day-to-day.
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