Join Canada Sports Betting’s Nick Martin as he handicaps the best NHL player prop bets available from Friday’s four-game slate.
Best bet—Andrei Svechnikov Over 2.5 Shots on Goal: -110
Andrei Svechnikov over 2.5 shots on goal
We were on Svechnikov to record three shots in Tuesday’s matchup versus the Washington Capitals, and he came through for us recording five shots on goal from 10 attempts. Though the price for Svechnikov to record at least three shots on goal has dropped from +115 to -110 ahead of today’s matchup, there still seems to be value in going back to this play.
Svechnikov spent the early part of the season playing on the Hurricanes’ second and third lines and was not exactly proving that head coach Rod Brind’Amour was wrong to place him in lesser roles. Svechnikov has earned his way onto a stacked top line alongside Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis and, since being promoted onto the unit, has been pouring attempts on goal at a much higher rate.
Over the last four games, Svechnikov has recorded 18 shots on goal from a whopping output of 32 attempts. In 42.2 minutes together this season, Svechnikov, Aho, and Jarvis hold a 69.4% expected goal share and have generated 80.98 shot attempts per 60.
Svechnikov will also remain on the Hurricanes’ top power-play unit, which could find success in Friday’s matchup versus a Canucks penalty kill that ranks last in the league in success rate.
The potential that Friday’s matchup could be somewhat lopsided, which would likely cause Brind’Amour to roll his offensive units fairly evenly, is a concern. The Hurricanes’ top line should carry the play quite heavily in the minutes that they do receive, though, as the Canucks have allowed 29.51 shots against per 60 and 3.92 xGA/60.
The Canucks will present an even more appealing matchup if Quinn Hughes is to miss this matchup due to injury.
Best bet—Clayton Keller/Logan Cooley to record 1 point each: -105
Keller/Cooley points parlay
As outlined in my daily slate breakdown piece, the Utah Mammoth have a great opportunity to earn an important win Friday on home ice as they take on an unconvincing New York Islanders side playing the second leg of a back-to-back. New York will have backup goaltender David Rittich in goal, and has allowed 13 goals against throughout his last three starts following a surprisingly strong start to the season.
Rittich held a -11.4 GSAx rating and .886 save percentage in 34 appearances last season with the Los Angeles Kings, and it seems fair to believe that he will be a well below average option over a larger sample of play this season. The Islanders have allowed 3.85 xGA/60 over their last 10 games, which is the second-worst mark in the NHL.
This matchup offers a great opportunity for the Mammoth’s highly talented top line of Clayton Keller, Logan Cooley, and Nick Schmaltz to remain productive after they combined for five points in Wednesday’s 5-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres. In 271.5 minutes together last season, Cooley, Keller, and Schmaltz scored 4.20 goals per 60, but up until the last three games, head coach Andre Tourigny has generally opted for balance by keeping Cooley on the second line.
Keller and Cooley also correlate well in playing together on the Mammoth’s top power-play unit, which has struggled so far this season but was effective last season and projects as a better-than-average unit.
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