Join Canada Sports Betting’s Nick Martin as he handicaps the best NHL player prop bets available from Wednesday’s six-game slate.
Best bet—Matthew Schaefer Over 0.5 Points: -105
Schaefer to record a point
Over the last 10 games, the Seattle Kraken have allowed 4.04 xGA/60, which is the highest mark in the league, as well as 31.22 shots against per 60. They hold the league’s seventh-best save percentage in that span and have still allowed 3.05 goals against per game.
Dating back to last Monday, we have outlined three player props from opposing skaters versus the Kraken, which have gone 2-for-3, with the only loss coming with Evgeni Malkin failing to record a point in a matchup where the Kraken allowed six goals. The Islanders are only slight favourites Wednesday night in a matchup with a total of 5.5. I’m not counting on a shootout in this matchup, but the Kraken appear to be getting a lot of credit for a fairly unconvincing defensive process.
Matthew Schaefer is rightfully priced at -650 to win the Calder Trophy, having generated 34 points in 49 games while being highly impactful all over the ice. Schaefer has averaged 24:02 of time-on-ice this season, and there’s a pretty valid argument to be made that he has been the most impactful Islander, aside from Vezina favourite Ilya Sorokin.
This seems like a suitable spot to back the Islanders managing a respectable offensive total, given that oddsmakers really aren’t counting on much. With that in mind, it seems logical to target Schaefer, who consistently plays the most minutes for the team and helps generate offence in a lot of different ways.
Schaefer has recorded at least one point in 55.1% of games this season, and I’m not sure that clip is surprising for anybody who’s watched his game consistently. He’s remained in steady form of late with 10 points over the last 10 games, and four assists over the last two games.
Related: Check out Canada Sports Betting’s best NHL bets for Jan. 21 with our AI-generated recap.
Best bet—Jakob Chychrun Over 3.5 Shots on Goal: +165
Chychrun over 3.5 SOG
Chychrun’s most recent game logs may not entirely suggest that +165 for four shots on target is an overly strong bet, but a matchup versus the Vancouver Canucks seems to be a good time to bet on an outlier performance from the Washington Capitals defender.
Chychrun has recorded nine shots over the Capitals’ last three games, and in those matchups Washington has been outplayed fairly considerably, with an expected goal share of just 42.08% and generating only 22.5 shots per 60. It seems logical to expect Chychrun to spend much more time attacking in the offensive zone Wednesday, as the Capitals take on a Canucks side in the midst of an 11-game losing skid.
During their 11-game losing skid, the Canucks have allowed 31.26 shots against per 60. The Canucks have also allowed the fourth-most shots to defenders this season and the fourth most over the last 10 games. They have a number of wingers who do not check overly well in the defensive zone, and Chychrun should be able to find some space to get point shots through in this matchup.
Chychrun ranks second only to Alex Ovechkin in shots per 60 and shot attempts per 60 this season. Chychrun has recorded over 3.5 shots on goal in 24 of his 48 games played this season, which is a very strong hit rate for a prop priced up at +165, particularly given that the Canucks offer a better than average matchup.
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