In this article, Canada Sports Betting’s Nick Martin breaks down two NHL player prop picks that provide value at online sportsbooks on March 18.
With another split on Tuesday’s card, we enter Wednesday’s slate at +14.91 units on the season across 145 selections.
Check out my best NHL player prop bets for March 18 below and tail my picks at any of the top NHL betting sites in Canada.
Erik Karlsson Over 0.5 Points: -115
Karlsson to record a point
Despite dealing with a notably difficult schedule, the absence of Sidney Crosby, and five games without Evgeni Malkin, the Pittsburgh Penguins have played to a record of 5-3-3 since the Olympic break and are now a near lock to make the playoffs.
When Crosby went down, a large portion of observers expected the Penguins’ results would fall off considerably. However, Pittsburgh has been much more than a one-man show this season, and those takes seemed to be sleeping on the fact that it has received strong contributions from up and down the lineup this season.
One skater, in particular, who went a long way to helping the Penguins tread water without Crosby and Malkin was Erik Karlsson, who’s turned back the clock with an excellent campaign. Karlsson has recorded 14 points over the last 10 games, and his excellent puck movement from the back end has helped power the Penguins offence during a stretch where they were playing without their best skater.
Crosby is set to return to the lineup Wednesday, and that is certainly not a bad thing for this prop. His return will obviously not change Karlsson’s usage on the top defensive pairing and top power play, and should only help Karlsson continue is excellent run of production given the Penguins’ increased chances of doing damage offensively.
The Carolina Hurricanes do an excellent job of suppressing opposing scoring chances, but do give up high-quality chances off the rush, and have not been receiving overly strong play in goal. Over the last 10 games the Hurricanes have allowed 3.40 goals against per game, and Wednesday’s matchup features a fitting total of 6.5.
Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt 1+ Point Each Parlay: -120
Hughes/Bratt points parlay
This angle has made the cut twice in these player prop guides over the last week and probably would have been included three times if we ran the piece on Saturdays. While the takes may be somewhat redundant for regular readers, I’ll always err on the side of selecting the props that appear to hold the greatest value, and for that reason this has to make the cut once again.
The price for this highly correlated stack is gradually declining, as it was -110 in our article on March 12th, and -115 in Monday’s guide. Still, a price of -120 suggests oddsmakers are not crediting the fact that Hughes and Bratt are in much better form than they were for much of the campaign, and are now once again playing together at even strength.
Over the last eight games, Hughes and Bratt have combined for 23 points and recorded a point in the same game six times.
Both skaters have thrived in rivalry matchups versus the New York Rangers historically, including when Hughes recorded four points when these teams last met in New Jersey on March 8th. Dating back to the 2023-24 season, Hughes has put up 19 points in eight games versus the Rangers, while in the same span Bratt has put up 15 points in nine games.
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