NHL Top Player Prop Picks For March 5

In this article, Canada Sports Betting’s Nick Martin breaks down two NHL player prop picks that provide value at online sportsbooks on March 5.

Thanks to Matthew Schaefer, we earned the slightest of winning nights on Wednesday, moving to +15.13 units on the season with these player prop articles. Thursday’s slate figures to be an exciting day for NHL fans, as we will likely see some deals made ahead of the trade freeze on Friday at 3 p.m. ET.

Lots of players will be made healthy scratches ahead of potential trades Thursday, and therefore it is an especially important slate to pay attention to lineup news and notes. There is usually some opportunity to get prop bets in on skaters who end up moving up the lineup card, and provide value for small periods of time. I’ve not zeroed in on any of those looks for this article as those prices will not hold, but it is a strategy worth noting.

Logan Cooley Over 0.5 Points: +115

Out of the pack of teams involved in the soft race for wild card spots out West, the Utah Mammoth are clearly the most formidable. GM Bill Armstrong rightfully decided to strengthen his roster Wednesday by adding MacKenzie Weegar, paying what was a reasonable price given the team’s deep pile of assets and prospects.

Unless the Mammoth are ultimately able to pull off a blockbuster and acquire Robert Thomas, their most notable addition down the stretch should prove to be a healthy Logan Cooley, who returned to action in the first game out of the Olympic break following a lengthy layoff.

With three points in four games since returning, Cooley has looked true to form. Per HockeyStatCards.com, Cooley had the second-best game score of any forward on Tuesday versus the Washington Capitals, with linemate JJ Peterka leading the way.

Cooley has put up 25 points in 32 games this season and has recorded at least one point in 53.1% of games played. He also produced 28 points over the final 32 games last season, which suggests this level of production is not surprising for the former third overall pick.

The Philadelphia Flyers play a notably low-event style and are fairly solid defensively as a result. Still, they have allowed 3.00 goals against per game over the last 10 matchups, which is closer to league average than outright dominant.

Considering Cooley’s production over his last 64 games at the NHL level, a price of +115 for him to record one point looks to provide strong value given that he has not looked out of form since returning to the lineup.

Tim Stutzle/Drake Batherson 1+ Point Each Parlay: -105

We’ve discussed this stack fairly often this season, including in the Ottawa Senators’ most recent matchup versus the Edmonton Oilers, when it was part of our winning SGP on the game. It was priced at +105 in Tuesday’s matchup, and though it is now down to -105, that seems to be a livable adjustment with the Senators set to face off versus the cellar-dwelling Calgary Flames.

The Senators’ top line of Stutzle, Claude Giroux and Drake Batherson offers a high level of play and shows strong cohesion in creating scoring chances that force movement from opposing goaltenders. They have played to a 61.2% expected goal share, and the eye test suggests the types of chances they are consistently creating are truly threatening.

Stutzle has been one of the more dynamic forwards in the NHL this season and has been on fire of late, with 14 points over the last 10 games. Batherson has been steady in that span, having put up nine points. The two have recorded a point in the same game seven times over that span, which is no surprise given their overall level of production and the fact that they skate together on both the top even-strength unit and top power-play unit.

Though the Flames have received strong play in goal recently, they have still allowed 3.10 goals against per game over the last 10 games and have allowed 3.81 xGA/60 in that span. Though he has not been at his best for most of this season, the defensive core took another hit in losing Weegar on Thursday, and it won’t be surprising if skaters such as Blake Coleman, Nazem Kadri or even potentially Zach Whitecloud ultimately miss this matchup due to potential trades.

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