Join Canada Sports Betting’s Nick Martin as he handicaps the best NHL player prop bets available from Friday’s 3-game slate.
Best bet—Ryan Leonard Over 2.5 Shots on Goal: +110 (Bet365, Play to +100)
The shorthanded Washington Capitals will look to snap the Chicago Blackhawks’ four-game winning streak Friday night, which includes a 3-2 shootout win over the Capitals last Saturday. Washington has ticked down to -130, as Jakob Chychrun and Justin Sourdif’s statuses are unclear at the time of writing after both left Thursday’s practice, while Tom Wilson and Pierre-Luc Dubois will remain sidelined.
While there are numerous moving parts for the Capitals ahead of this matchup (Aliaksei Protas could possibly return), it seems to be a safe bet that Ryan Leonard will once again play a key role in this matchup, after skating a season high of 22:07 in Wednesday’s matchup versus the Dallas Stars.
While Leonard recorded only two shots on goal Wednesday, he had five attempts on target, and his heightened usage is highly encouraging in this market given that he ranks second on the Capitals in shots on goal per 60 and third in shot attempts per 60 this season.
Leonard had a goal and three shots on target when these teams faced off on Saturday. There has not been many positive storylines for the Capitals recently, but the play of the second line of Leonard, Sourdif and Connor McMichael has been encouraging.
It will be worth keeping an eye on the Capitals’ lines at the morning skate, but Leonard should be a safe bet to remain in the top six and on the team’s top power play. While his shot volume has not been that impressive recently, given his seasonal averages, it’s logical to expect greater volume moving forward if he is to remain in his current roles.
At +110 there seems to be value in backing Leonard to record over 2.5 shots on goal.
Best bet—Lawson Crouse Over 0.5 Points +110 (Bet365, Play to +105)
Mammoth head coach Andre Tourigny may have found something with his newfound top unit of Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz and Lawson Crouse. In a tiny sample, Crouse’s size and ability to win battles in the dirty areas has complemented Keller and Schmaltz well, as the three have scored 5.21 goals per 60 thus far.
Crouse has recorded five points over the last five games, while averaging 17:23 of time on ice. He’s undoubtedly the least talented offensive skater on Utah’s top unit, but with a price of +110, this bet looks like a good way to tap into the offensive upside of Keller and Schmaltz. Keller and Schmaltz have combined for 75 points in the first 44 games of the season, and Crouse has looked worthy of his new role thus far.
The St. Louis Blues offer a pretty strong matchup for Crouse to remain productive. St. Louis has allowed 3.43 goals against per game this season, which is the fourth-highest mark in the league, and over the last month the Blues have allowed 3.50 goals per game.