Join Canada Sports Betting’s Nick Martin as he handicaps the best NHL player prop bets available from Monday’s four-game slate.
Best bet-Nikita Kucherov Over 1.5 Points: +100
Nikita Kucherov over 1.5 points
Kucherov and the Tampa Bay Lightning will look to enter the holiday break on a high note when they host the lowly St. Louis Blues as heavy -245 favourites, and it does seem like a strong spot to expect a strong offensive performance from the Bolts.
Kucherov has quietly been producing at an incredible rate following a slower than usual start to the season, a storyline which doesn’t seem to be garnering many headlines given Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon’s recent production. Kucherov has put up 27 points over his last 15 games played and recorded two points in nine of those matchups.
During those 15 games, Lightning head coach Jon Cooper has been shake up his top two units quite consistently given all of the key injuries his side has dealt with, but his current top unit of Kucherov alongside Brayden Point and Anthony Cirelli looks quite convincing.
We’ve seen Kucherov play much of his best hockey alongside Point, and Point has started to elevate his level of play after an unproductive start to the year followed by some absences from the lineup.
Jordan Binnington has been confirmed as the Blues’ starter for Monday’s matchup, and that is a favourable note towards the potential of a strong offensive output from the Lightning on home ice in this spot. Binnington has played to an .873 save percentage and 3.41 GAA in 22 appearances this season.
And while the Blues do play low-event hockey, they spend a lot of time playing in their defensive zone and Kucherov’s line should get plenty of offensive zone starts in this matchup. Kucherov is one of the better skaters in the league at creating ultra-dangerous looks following extended attacking sequences, and that strength should prove notable in this matchup.
Best bet-Leo Carlsson/Troy Terry 1+ Points Each: +105
Carlsson/Terry points parlay
Anaheim Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville reunited his top trio of Carlsson, Terry, and Chris Kreider in Saturday’s 4-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Though his top trio did not break through with any production where it counts, the trio looked quite threatening during their 12:51 of time-on-ice together at even strength, generating 1.20 expected goals and finishing with a 68.4% expected goal share.
In a large sample of 239.7 minutes of play this season, Carlsson, Terry, and Kreider have generated 3.58 xGF/60. Carlsson and Terry are also playing together on the Ducks’ top power- play unit currently, so there is excellent correlation in backing both to record a point in Monday’s soft matchup versus the Seattle Kraken.
Carlsson and Terry have combined for 76 points in 36 games this season. Carlsson, in particular, has looked to be one of the NHL’s more dynamic offensive skaters, and Terry and Kreider have complemented him well on a line that controls play effectively and offers three capable finishing threats.
The Kraken have allowed 4.88 xGA/60 over the last 10 games, which is the worst mark in the NHL by a significant margin in that span. They continue to attempt to play Chandler Stephenson’s unit head-to-head versus opposing top trios as much as possible, despite the fact that the unit has allowed 4.21 goals against per 60 this season.
At +105, we are getting a good price to target each of Carlsson and Terry recorded a point in a highly favourable matchup versus arguably the worst side in the NHL.
You can follow all of Nick’s hockey bets on the Action Network App!