Without even considering NHL Props, it’s already been a crazy week in the league. The Canadiens hired Martin St. Louis to replace Dominique Ducharme as head coach, veteran goalie Tuukka Rask has called it a career, and world-class irritant Brad Marchand earned a six-game suspension with some serious bush-league behavior.
All that, and we haven’t even reached Thursday’s slate of games!
Let’s dive into five intriguing NHL Props for Thursday’s robust seven-game slate.
All odds via DraftKings and updated as of 2 p.m. ET on Feb. 10.
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Pittsburgh Penguins: LW Jake Guentzel
The Prop: Score Anytime Goal (at Ottawa)
The Odds: -105
Guentzel has been on a tear this season, ranking 12th in goals with 23 and vastly exceeding a point-per-game pace (48 points in 41 contests).
Lost in today’s discourse is that Jake Guentzel is producing at a 46 goal, 98 point pace over 82 games this season.
— Danny Shirey (@DannyShireyPGH) February 9, 2022
He showed the hockey world just how lethal his shot is during All-Star weekend in Las Vegas, finishing second in the accuracy challenge. And now here’s the sweet part for Thursday’s NHL props bettors: 16 of Guentzel’s goals have come on the road.
While his otherworldly 23.5 percent shooting rate in road-only games isn’t exactly sustainable, it could hold up tonight. That’s because the Penguins need to lean on Guentzel to provide an offensive spark with fellow scorers Evgeni Malkin (COVID-19 protocols) and Jason Zucker (core muscle surgery) on the shelf.
Ottawa yields 3.31 goals per game, 11th in the league, but they also allow the sixth-most shots per game at 33.6. As a team, Pittsburgh scores the fourth-most goals per road game at 3.39.
Guentzel had an assist earlier in the season at Ottawa, then lit the lamp against the Sens in a home game on Jan. 20. That gave him eight goals in nine career games versus Ottawa. Make it nine goals in 10 games tonight!
Montreal Canadiens: RW Tyler Toffoli
The Prop: Score Anytime Goal (vs. Washington)
The Odds: +200
The Montreal Canadiens are the only team in the NHL without a 10-goal scorer on their roster. That’s going to change Thursday night, courtesy of Toffoli.
The 29-year-old center is starting to heat up, with goals in two of his last three, and three or more shots in eight of his last nine games (four total goals in that stretch). His shooting percentage is down nearly 50 percent compared with 2020-21 (9.8% this year, career-best 17.8% last year). But we know what kind of a potent scorer Toffoli can be, so expect that percentage to rise the rest of the way.
With a new head coach behind the bench beginning Wednesday, it’s possible Toffoli will get an extra boost as systems and linemates may change.
This is also a favorable matchup for Toffoli, because Washington is in a tough spot. The Capitals will be without Alex Ovechkin, Vitek Vanecek, and T.J. Oshie. That’s some serious lost firepower.
Ilya Samsonov is the likely starter in net for the Caps, but his .902 save percentage and 2.89 GAA don’t inspire a ton of confidence. Nor does this factoid: Washington has allowed three goals or more in four of its last five games.
Editor’s Note: New to NHL props? Check out our complete NHL Props Betting Guide to get up to speed!
Columbus Blue Jackets: RW Patrik Laine
The Prop: 2.5 Total Shots (at Buffalo)
The Odds: Over -115/Under -115
With six goals in his last three games, Patrik Laine is looking like the 40-goal scorer he was back when he donned a Winnipeg Jets sweater. He’s now tied for second on the team in goals despite playing nearly 20 fewer games than those with whom he’s tied.
Patrik Laine's season to date.
12-12-24 in 25 games.
Considering he's overcome an injury and the loss of his father, this is damn impressive. #CBJ
— Mark Scheig (@markscheig) February 9, 2022
Columbus’ offense is coming to life around him as well, tallying four goals or more in each of its past four games. The Blue Jackets are even 3-1 during this stretch (an 8-4 loss to Florida being the lone blemish).
Laine is averaging 2.72 shots per game this season, and he’s put at least three pucks on net in four of his last five contests (including three in a row). He’s also registered exactly five shots in each of his last three road games.
Meanwhile, Buffalo allows the second-most shots per game at 34.9, which bodes well for Laine’s chances to beat this prop. As does this: He’s tallied 21 shots in eight career games against the Sabres (2.63 per game).
St. Louis Blues: C Jordan Kyrou
The Prop: Score Anytime Goal (vs. New Jersey)
The Odds: +185
Fresh off his first All-Star Game appearance and a win in the fastest skater competition, Kyrou returns from the break as St. Louis’ leading goal scorer. He also ranks third on the team in shots. However, he’s tied for the fourth-best odds among Blues skaters as an anytime goal-scorer in Thursday’s home match against the Devils.
THIS GUY CAN FLY 💨@JordanKyrou bolted to victory in the @Verizon NHL Fastest Skater competition, topping out at 25.844MPH! pic.twitter.com/DJwCVBf9CM
— NHL (@NHL) February 9, 2022
With three goals in his last five games, Kyrou should stay hot against a Devils team that’s allowed the fourth-most goals per game this season (3.49 overall, 3.78 on the road). New Jersey netminders also sport an .886 save percentage, third-worst in the league.
Yes, the Devils held down the Canadiens in Tuesday’s 7-1 victory. But prior to that, New Jersey had surrendered 17 goals in three games and four goals or more in seven of 11 contests.
Toronto Maple Leafs: C John Tavares
The Prop: 0.5 Total Assists (at Calgary)
The Odds: Over +125/Under -155
Coming off Monday’s two-assist game against the Carolina Hurricanes, Tavares is in a great position to get into the assist column against Calgary on Thursday. He’s tied for second on the team with 25 helpers in 42 games this season, and is second among forwards in power-play time on ice. So the opportunities figure to be there.
Tavares has posted eight multi-point games this season. He’s then proceeded to tally an assist after a multi-point game six times.
Calgary is riding high off Wednesday’s 6-0 beatdown of the Vegas Golden Knights, and the Flames are 4-1-1 this season during the second leg of a back-to-back. Still, the Maple Leafs are on a six-game win streak, and they’ve poured in a whopping 40 goals in their last eight contests.
Admittedly, Tavares has struggled in the assist department on the road, with just 10 in 20 games (and only four in his last 11 roadies). But he’s got a hot hand right now, so let’s ride it.
