Join Canada Sports Betting’s Nick Martin as he handicaps the best NHL player prop bets available from Monday’s four-game slate.
We’ve had a solid start to the year with these player prop guides, as after reviewing the results over the weekend, we are currently up 9.26 units through 101 selections. I’d like to thank all of our readers for a fun first half, and hopefully we can stay steady throughout the final 11 slates prior to the Olympic break!
Best bet—Adam Fantilli Over 2.5 Shots on Goal: -115 (bet365, Play to -120)
The Columbus Blue Jackets have responded well since former head coach Dean Evason was relieved of his duties. Under Rick Bowness, the Blue Jackets are 5-1-0 and have generated 29.71 shots on goal per 60 in that span.
There have been several Blue Jackets skaters who have shown a little more life since Bowness took over, and Fantilli looks to be one of them. The Blue Jackets’ top center could be turning the corner after a fairly disappointing start to the campaign, as in six games under Bowness, Fantilli has put up five points and registered 3.33 shots per game.
Bowness has leaned upon Fantilli quite heavily during his brief tenure as head coach, as Fantilli leads all Blue Jackets forwards in averaging 19:56 of time on ice and has attempted five shots per game.
The Blue Jackets’ top line of Fantilli, Kirill Marchenko, and Mason Marchment has played to a 57.1% expected goal share across 101.8 minutes of play and outscored opponents eight to four where it counts. It seems likely that Bowness will continue to rely heavily upon what has been a highly effective top line in Monday’s matchup.
The Blue Jackets’ top power play unit has also been effective recently, scoring on 28.6% of opportunities since Bowness took over as head coach. Given the effectiveness of the units that Fantilli is skating on, he should continue to have plenty of scoring opportunities.
The Los Angeles Kings have generally been a very tough matchup for opposing shooters in recent years, but this year’s Kings side looks much less formidable. Though they still attempt to play a highly defensive game, they rank in the middle of the league in SA/60 over the last six games and simply do not seem overly likely to carry play the way that we have become accustomed to seeing in previous years.
At -110 Fantilli looks to be a good bet to record over 2.5 shots on goal in Monday’s matchup.
Fanitilli Over 2.5 Shots on Goal
Best bet—Owen Tippett Over 2.5 Shots on Goal: +100 (bet365, Play to -110)
An overall level of consistency is one of the key separators between many second/third liners and the league’s best skaters, and that point seems particularly true looking at Tippett. Consistency has been a huge issue for Tippett the last two seasons, as when he is at his best, he looks like one of the more dynamic forwards in the league, but those nights have been too few and far between.
Tippett had his best game of the season Friday night in Colorado, recording three goals and an assist across 16:04 of time on ice. While he will almost certainly not author as dominant a performance Monday, it doesn’t seem like too much of a reach that he will remain fairly involved offensively.
Over the last ten games, Tippett has averaged 3.2 shots on goal per game, recorded over 2.5 shots on goal eight times, and averaged 6.4 shot attempts per game in that span. The two games in which he came in under 2.5 shots on goal during that span were on the road against the Vegas Golden Knights and the Utah Mammoth, both of whom do not allow many shots on goal.
The New York Islanders currently present as a fairly strong matchup for Tippett to manage three or more shots on target. They hold an expected goal share of 45.67% over the last ten games and rank 15th in shots allowed per 60 in that span. Ilya Sorokin’s brilliance in goal has kept games close, and we should have a good chance of receiving a strong game script on Monday involving the Flyers pouring plenty of shots toward Sorokin in a game featuring a close score line.