NHL Best Player Prop Bets For December 15

Join Canada Sports Betting’s Nick Martin as he handicaps the best NHL player prop bets available from Monday’s five-game slate.

Best bet-Sam Bennett Over 0.5 Points: -120

After winning the Conn Smythe Trophy last season following a solid showing at the 4 Nations Face-Off, Bennett likely would have been included on Team Canada’s Olympic roster regardless of his poor start to the season. However, he’s certainly made the decision even easier for GM Doug Armstrong by putting up 16 points over his last 13 games.

Bennett has rightfully earned the right to be viewed as a big-game player, and as the possibility of the back-to-back champs missing the playoffs became somewhat of a reality, he’s elevated his game significantly of late. The Tampa Bay Lightning are a strong defensive team and Monday’s matchup does have a low total of 5.5, but for that reason the price for Bennett to record a point is up from where it has been in softer matchups recently, and this is the type of spot where I’m happy to target Bennett at a better price than usual.

Florida’s top trio of Bennett, Brad Marchand, and Carter Verhaeghe has been dominant of late, combining for 49 points over the last 13 games. In 102.2 minutes of play this season, they have generated 4.29 xGF/60, which is the third-best mark in the NHL among all offensive units to spend over 100 minutes together.

Over the past two playoff series versus head coach Jon Cooper’s Lightning, Bennett recorded a point in 71% of games played. Given the expected feel of tonight’s matchup and that it is a similar Lightning roster, that is an encouraging clip given Bennett’s recent form and the price of -120 for this bet.

At the time of writing, it’s not yet been confirmed if Jonas Johansson will start in goal for the Lightning or not, and Andrei Vasilevskiy was on the ice at morning skate. It does seem more probable that Johansson will play in this matchup, which would also make this bet slightly more appealing than it would be if Vasilevskiy were to start.

Best bet-Luke Evangelista Over 0.5 Points: +105

The Nashville Predators have quietly elevated their game of late, with a record of 6-4 over the last 10 games. It’s unlikely that their recent results will mean anything but a worse selection in next year’s entry draft, but the recent play of 23-year-old Luke Evangelista does offer a silver lining for the fanbase.

Evangelista leads the team with 13 points over the last 10 games, and he’s recorded at least one point in eight of those matchups, including three assists when the Predators faced off against the St. Louis Blues last Thursday. He’s rightfully earning more minutes from head coach Andrew Brunette, having averaged 17:03 of ice time during the last 13 games.

Evangelista is expected to remain alongside Ryan O’Reilly and Filip Forsberg on the Predators’ top line in Monday’s matchup. The three have formed a really effective trio, playing to a 60% expected goal share and generating 3.32 xGF/60 in 151.7 minutes together.

Evangelista has recorded at least one point in 53.3% of his 30 games played this season, despite the fact that earlier on in the year he was skating in lesser roles on the team’s second and third lines. Considering his current role and offensive skillset, he should be able to, at worst, continue to match that level of production moving forward, which would make a price of +105 profitable.

The Blues are a fairly strong matchup too, as they have allowed 3.52 goals against per game this season, which is the second-worst mark in the NHL.

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