In this article, Canada Sports Betting’s Nick Martin breaks down the two best NHL player prop picks that provide value at online sportsbooks today.
These player prop guides enter Monday’s slate up +12.5 units across 155 selections this season, following an 0-2 night last Friday. We will lean on Jack Eichel and William Nylander in attempting to bounce back Monday.
Check out today’s best NHL player prop bets below and tail my picks at any of the top NHL betting sites in Canada.
Jack Eichel to Score +120
Eichel to score
The Vegas Golden Knights will play for the first time under head coach John Tortorella Monday. The organization set Tortorella up with a tap-in win, as Vegas will face off against a Vancouver Canucks side that is proving to be among the worst teams in recent memory.
The Canucks have allowed 4.20 goals against per game over the last 15 matchups and 3.87 xGA/60 in that span. While their defensive play has been highly concerning, their goaltending has been downright horrific.
While Tortorella has earned a reputation as a coach that does not mesh with every skater, a number of players that are now out of the league still love going to bat for him. Younger skaters and/or ones that are perceived by Tortorella to cheat the game won’t get many opportunities to prove themselves, but that likely will never be an issue for Eichel, who’s familiar with Tortorella thanks to their time together with USA Hockey.
Eichel finally snapped his seven-game goalless drought on Saturday versus the Washington Capitals, which did seem predictable as he had seemingly been more assertive in driving pucks to the net in recent performances and was a pick that I wrote up for Action Network.
Over the last six games, Eichel has generated 2.87 individual expected goals and attempted 6.5 shots per game. If anything, my expectation is that Tortorella will implore Eichel to continue to be more direct and call his own number aggressively as opposed to being too passive in the offensive zone.
Given Eichel’s recent scoring chance generation and Monday’s highly favourable spot, even at +120, Eichel’s chances of finding the back of the net Monday are undervalued.
William Nylander Over 2.5 Shots on Goal: -130
Nylander over 2.5 SOG
Throughout much of January/February we were beating the drum in arguing Nylander’s expected volume was underrated, and that the game log was skewed by an abnormal amount of early exits and/or bad matchups. That’s proven to be one of the good takes, as we’re now seeing totals of 2.5 shots juiced to the over on a nightly basis, but in this specific matchup, the updated price of -130 still appears to be worth playing.
Monday’s game will feature a little added intensity after Radko Gudas ended Auston Matthews’ season with a knee that ultimately earned the Anaheim Ducks captain a five-game suspension on March 12th. Though the Maple Leafs‘ season has become meaningless, they should have some added jump in playing the role of spoiler Monday, and it seems logical to expect this game will be chippy and feature a greater-than-average amount of power play opportunities, with referees likely eager to keep things in check with the Department of Player Safety set to view this matchup in person.
The Ducks have been horrible defensively of late, and probably aren’t as strong as their record suggests, a mark that is aided by an 8-0 record in shootouts and playing out of a terrible Pacific Division. They have allowed a 4.35 xGA/60 and 29.35 shots against per 60 since the Olympic break, and Toronto’s top line should be capable of managing a strong output of chances in this matchup.
Nylander’s shot volume has been down of late, but he’s still averaged 4.8 shot attempts per game over the last five matchups, and skated an average of 20:59 per game in that span. While the recent dip in shot volume isn’t ideal, Nylander is very much a known product in terms of playing style, and given his current role and the Ducks’ poor defensive play, this looks like a great spot to buy back in on Nylander in this market.
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