NHL Player Props Top Betting Picks For January 5

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-Ryan Leonard Over 2.5 Shots on Goal: +125

After missing just over two weeks of action following a heavy hit from Anaheim’s Jacob Trouba in the previous meeting between these sides, Washington Capitals forward Ryan Leonard has returned in steady form with five points in six games following a scary-looking injury.

Trouba will avoid having to deal with potential retribution from Tom Wilson for a questionable hit in this matchup, as Wilson was injured in Saturday’s matchup versus the Chicago Blackhawks. While Washington would undoubtedly love to have Wilson in the lineup for that purpose, his absence is also highly significant given that the team is already short Aliaksei Protas and Pierre-Luc Dubois up front.

With Wilson sidelined, it seems likely that Leonard will bump into the top six in Monday’s matchup, and he has looked worthy of a larger role than he has received for most of the season. Leonard has put up 23 points in 35 games, despite averaging only 13:45 of ice time.

There looks to be value backing Leonard in a variety of prop markets in this favourable matchup, but at +125, I settled on Leonard recording three shots as my favourite look. Leonard leads all Capitals skaters in shots on goal per 60 this season and ranks third in shot attempts per 60.

With Leonard likely to move into an offensive role, which helps increase his chances of generating shots on target, as well as one where he should play more minutes, this seems like a great spot to buy on Leonard in this market. The Ducks have allowed 28.48 shots against per 60 this season and still have plenty of room to grow defensively.

Best Bet-Leo Carlsson to Record A Point -135

Sticking with the same game, a matchup versus the Washington Capitals appears to be a good time to buy low on the Ducks’ top scorer following an unproductive stretch of play. Over the last 15 games, the Capitals have allowed 3.85 xGA/60 and 3.50 goals against per game where it counts.

The Capitals blue line has struggled to suppress scoring chances off of the rush of late, and the team’s coverage in the defensive zone has also regressed relative to earlier on in the season. It certainly hasn’t helped that they have played without Dubois, who was the team’s best defensive forward last season and has typically played most of his minutes with the opposing top line.

Wilson and Protas are arguably the team’s second- and third-best defensive forwards, which should further the chances that Leo Carlsson’s unit can create some quality scoring opportunities in this matchup.

The Capitals are also opting to start Charlie Lindgren in goal, and while he’s a steady backup option, he’s certainly not at the level of number-one netminder Logan Thompson. Lindgren has played to an .887 save percentage and 3.07 GAA this season.

The Ducks have not yet completed their morning skate at the time of writing, but it’s hard to imagine any world where Carlsson isn’t skating as the team’s top centre and on PP1 in this matchup. While Carlsson has been cold of late, I’m still entirely sold that his skillset suggests his breakout campaign is no fluke.

Carlsson has recorded at least one point in 67.5% of games played this season, and given that this appears to be a quietly solid matchup for production, I see value in backing him to record one point or more at -135.

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