NBA Postseason Best Bets (5/14)
Alex Christenson
We have 11 games on the NHL slate for Thursday, so there’s plenty of action to be had on the ice. Below you’ll see a list of three of my favorite NHL props, with a couple of bonus NHL prop bets as well.
The odds change pretty quickly in the NHL, so take advantage of our Prop Shop for the best possible odds and check out our Pick Tracker for all of my picks.
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Be sure to check out Mean Streets for daily picks and Dangle Bet Celly for full NHL breakdowns each Tuesday and Thursday.
The Best NHL Prop Bets
Nathan MacKinnon Over 4.5 SOG
(-118, BetRivers)
I try to mix up the NHL props from different players in these articles, but I also want to give winners. Nathan MacKinnon is by no means a lock for five shots, but we also can’t ignore this run he’s on. Heading into his last game Tuesday, MacKinnon had averaged 8.5 shot attempts per game since Jan. 1st. He had 162 attempts over that span (second in the NHL) and he had cleared 4.5 shots on goals in three straight games. He had 12 attempts and 10 shots in Tuesday’s 3-1 win to give him 19 shots in his last two matchups. He has 29 total in his past four games. Nate is averaging 8.7 attempts and 5.3 shots per game over his last 20 games. Over that same time frame (Jan 1.), Detroit ranks fourth in shot attempts allowed and second in shots allowed at 5v5/60, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Bonus
- Artturi Lehkonen Point (-140, DraftKings)
Matt Duchene Point
(-135, DraftKings Sportsbook)
The Dallas Stars check in tied for the league-high in goals (3.68 per game), and Matt Duchene is a big reason why. Duchene only had 22 goals and 56 points last season with Nashville, which is still a good season, but the Preds decided to release him. Duchene signed a team-friendly $3M contract with the Stars and with a decent night against his former team, he will top last season’s results. The former Senator has 22 goals and 55 points through 55 games. Duchene has points in 17 of his last 22 games, and he’s picked up at least two points in four of his past five games. We have a 7-goal total between the Stars and Senators, so expect some offense.
Bonus
- Mason Marchment Point (+105, DraftKings)
- Jason Robertson O 2.5 SOG (-143, BetRivers)
- Wyatt Johnston O 2.5 SOG (-125, DraftKings)
- Claude Giroux Assist (+110, BetMGM)
- Stars In 60 (+105, DraftKings)
- Jason Robertson & Roope Hintz Points SGP (+120, Bet365)
- Matt Duchene, Tyler Seguin & Mason Marchment Points SGP (+450, Bet365)
- Matt Duchene, Tyler Seguin & Mason Marchment 2 Points SGP (+7000, Bet365)
- Claude Giroux & Tim Stutzle Points SGP (+115, Bet365)
Nico Hischier Over 2.5 SOG
(-117, BetRivers)
Jack Hughes gets a lot of attention in New Jersey, and I like his shot prop even though it’s moved to 4.5, but the Devils’ captain has been pretty consistent as well. Hischier has racked up five shots in back-to-back games and three of his last four games. He’s cleared 2.5 shots on goal in seven straight games. Through eight games this month, Hischier is averaging 19:58, which is the highest mark of any month so far this season. He has five goals, 10 points, and 32 shots on goal over those eight games (four shots per game).
Bonus
- Jack Hughes O 4.5 SOG (+124, DraftKings)
- Alexis Lafreniere O 2.5 SOG (-105, DraftKings)
- Alexis Lafreniere Point (+100, DraftKings)
- Mika Zibanejad & Chris Kreider Points SGP (+110, Bet365)
Jake DeBrusk Over 2.5 SOG
(+145, DraftKings Sportsbook)
I was going to finish with Quinton Byfield, who we gave a lot of love to on DBC again, but I decided to give some flowers to Jake DeBrusk after a great showing last night. DeBrusk finally broke out of his slump Wednesday night with a goal and an assist. He put six pucks on the net in 20:40 of ice time. That’s the most ice time he’s received since Nov. 2, and the second-most ice time he’s had in a game this season. He looked fantastic last night on the top line, and he was rewarded with more minutes. The points haven’t been there for him, but chances have. The winger has at least three shots on goal in five of his past six games. I like him for three shots tonight and I’m going to take his point prop as well. Included his linemate David Pastrnak below because he has a league-high 208 attempts and 108 shots since the calendar turned to 2024.
Bonus
- Jake DeBrusk Point (-110, DraftKings)
- David Pastrnak O 4.5 SOG (-114. BetRivers)
Goal Scorers
Nathan MacKinnon
Matt Duchene
Jack Hughes
Quinton Byfield
Auston Matthews
Jonathan Marchessault
Alex Ovechkin
Mika Zibanejad
Bo Horvat
Jake DeBrusk
Elias Lindholm
Jared McCann
Cole Caufield
Bryan Rust
PrizePicks
- Nathan MacKinnon O 4.5 SOG
- Jack Hughes O 4 SOG
- Steven Stamkos O 2.5 SOG
- Alexis Lafreniere O 2.5 SOG
- Jake DeBrusk Point
- Nick Suzuki O 2 SOG
- Jared McCann Point
- Juraj Slafkovsky Point
- Pavel Zacha Point
- Elias Lindholm Point
