Join Canada Sports Betting’s Nick Martin as he handicaps the best NHL player prop bets available from Wednesday’s five-game slate.
Best bet—Jack Hughes Over 1.5 Total Points: +195
Jack Hughes over 1.5 points
The Seattle Kraken have allowed only 2.3 goals per game throughout their last 10 matchups and have played to a record of 7-1-2 in that span. Seven of those 10 matchups have come against sides ranking 26th or lower in goal per game average this season, and still they have allowed 3.44 xGA/60, which has been masked by a league-leading save percentage.
I’m not sold that the Kraken are a true defensive juggernaut by any means, and while the New Jersey Devils have also struggled offensively, it’s been largely due to a lack of offensive depth, and Wednesday’s matchup sets up as a good spot to target their most dynamic offensive skater in Hughes.
Hughes looked prime for a monster campaign entering the year, as he is in his absolute prime at age 24 and had put up 243 points over the past 202 regular season games.
Things have been quite messy for head coach Sheldon Keefe’s Devils this season, and the team-wide struggles have been exacerbated by a disappointing start from Hughes.
Hughes enters this matchup off of two of his best performances of the season, in which he created several highly threatening scoring chances for his linemates and himself. Though he did finish with three points from those matchups, he could have easily produced more than three points with better finishing from himself and his linemates.
Though Jesper Bratt and Timo Meier have also offered disappointing production this season, on paper it’s still an extremely threatening combination, which could fare quite well versus a Kraken side that seems highly overvalued from a defensive perspective.
Backing Hughes to record over 3.5 shots on goal (+110), or a score himself (+145) is viable, but based on his recent combination of playmaking and individual chances, I’m liking a price of +195 to take a stab on him recording two points or more in Wednesday’s matchup.
Related: Check out Canada Sports Betting’s best NHL bets for Jan. 14 with our AI-generated audio recap.
Best bet—Josh Doan Over 0.5 Total Points: +110
Josh Doan over 0.5 total points
For all of the bad decisions that former Buffalo Sabres GM Kevyn Adams made during his tenure with the team, his final noteworthy move in trading J.J. Peterka for Josh Doan and Michael Kesselring looks to have been a fairly excellent decision.
Doan has become a fan favourite in Buffalo thanks to his dogged play in all areas of the ice, which has helped the team heavily outchance opponents in his minutes. Doan has already generated 11.5 expected goals above replacement this season, which is by a margin the highest mark of any Sabres skater.
Obviously there are intricacies to hockey that the analytics don’t catch, but on average Doan has visibly been highly involved. He pressures the puck quite effectively, and has proven to be more adept than expected at passing in small areas to keep offensive threats alive.
Doan has produced 30 points in 44 games this season, with at least one point in 23 of his 43 games played. His role on the team has grown since the start of the campaign, though, and over the last six games he’s recorded six points while averaging 17:37 of time-on-ice.
Doan is expected to remain on the Sabres’ top line and top power-play unit in Wednesday’s matchup versus the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers do hold the 11th best goals against average in the NHL this season, but a price of +110 for Doan to record a point still looks quite enticing based on his current roles and recent level of play.
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