Tuesday’s NHL props featured hits on a Steven Stamkos goal and Anders Lee going Over his shot total — and the misses couldn’t have been closer. Connor McDavid tallied two points, but neither came on the power play, and Johnny Gaudreau had two assists but couldn’t find the back of the net. Also, Bryan Rust needed four shots to hit the Over but finished with three.
All that to say, the logic was there those NHL props, but alas, the lucrative results were not. Let’s try again with another round of NHL props for Thursday, as we’ve got five more selections from the league’s robust 10-game slate.
Odds via DraftKings and FanDuel, and updated as of 1 p.m. ET on Feb. 17.
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St. Louis Blues: LW Pavel Buchnevich
The Prop: Score Anytime Goal (at Montreal)
The Odds: +175
With all the weapons in the Blues’ offensive arsenal, Buchnevich has flown a bit under the radar this season. Which is difficult to believe considering he’s averaging exactly a point per game (15 goals and 26 assists in 41 contests).
The former New York Ranger has been an incredible addition to the St. Louis roster — so much so that it’s fair to say the trade that sent Sammy Blais and a second-round pick to the Rangers was a massive win for the Blues. And even though Buchnevich is in the midst of a five-game goal-scoring drought, he’s got an extremely favorable matchup north of the border Thursday.
The Canadiens are in shambles, and we’re not just talking about their league-worst 8-33-7 record. Montreal currently has two goaltenders and five defensemen on the injured list, which is scary when considering these stats: The Habs rank dead last in total goals allowed (191) and goals allowed per game (3.98), and they’re yielding 34.5 shots per contest (third-most).
For a high-scoring team like St. Louis (3.51 goals per game, fifth-best), the opportunities to tickle the twine should come early and often.
Back to Buchnevich: Eight of his 15 goals this season have come on the road; in fact, he’s scored in 42% of his games in opposing arenas. He’s also scored against Montreal already this season, tallying the opening goal in a 4-1 win over the Habs on December 11.
Buffalo Sabres: RW Victor Olofsson
The Prop: 2.5 Total Shots (vs. Ottawa)
The Odds: Over +122/Under -166
There’s a general theory when it comes to betting the Over on shooting props: Take someone playing against Buffalo instead of playing for the Sabres. However, Thursday offers a great argument for doing the opposite.
Victor Olofsson (@vickeo) är tillbaka i målprotokollet, det blev två mål inatt för svensken 🚨🇸🇪 @BuffaloSabres | #LetsGoBuffalo | #Olofsson pic.twitter.com/Eb6AOKKq5k
— NHL Sverige (@NHLsv) February 16, 2022
Olofsson is trending in the right direction with nine shots in his past two games, and two of those hit the back of the net Tuesday. Prior to that, he had a six-game stretch without clearing this prop number. Add that to the fact that Olofsson is averaging just 2.08 shots per game for the season, and it’s understandable to be leery on this one.
However, like Buffalo, Ottawa is always worth targeting in shots-on-goal props. The Senators allow the sixth-most shots per game (34.0), and that number climbs to 34.6 on the road.
Oloffson is 1-for-2 on this prop against the Sens this season, tallying three shots in Ottawa on Jan. 18 and zero in a return trip to Canada exactly a week later. But given the Sabres put up 2.5 more shots on goal per game at home than on the road, there’s solid logic in playing the Over here.
No doubt, it’s a bit of a risky play. But the reward is worth it.
Editor’s Note: New to NHL props? Check out our complete NHL Props Betting Guide to get up to speed!
Washington Capitals: LW Alex Ovechkin
The Prop: Score Anytime Goal (at Philadelphia)
The Odds: -135
We all know Ovechkin is a scoring machine, with 31 goals and counting this season. He’s scored in 15 of 23 road games and 12 of 21 games against teams with a losing record. And given that he failed to score in the earlier meeting with the Flyers this season despite a game-high six shots on goal, you know he’s hungry.
Alex Ovechkin is the only player in NHL history with 16 30-goal seasons with one team.
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) February 16, 2022
Philadelphia has allowed three goals or more in seven of its last eight games, including surrendering at least four in each of the past three contests. Meanwhile, Washington has scored four or more in five of its past seven.
Throw in the fact that Ovechkin ended a season-long six-game goalless drought with a pair of goals in Tuesday’s win over Nashville, and we’ll back Alexander the Great to find twine again tonight.
Chicago Blackhawks: RW Patrick Kane
The Prop: Score Anytime Goal (vs. Columbus)
The Odds: +150
With the Blackhawks struggling this season and their window to win another Stanley Cup slammed shut, rumors have begun to swirl around whether Chicago should look to trade Kane. Whether or not that happens, the frustration around the team’s futility is evident in Kane’s game.
The veteran forward has always been more of the set-up guy than the goal scorer. And entering Monday’s game with Winnipeg, the 33-year-old winger had lit the lamp in just one of his previous 10 games (a two-goal effort against Colorado on Jan. 28). But with a goal and an assist against the Jets, it’s time to jump back on the goal-scoring Kane train.
This season, Kane ranks seventh in the league in shots with 167. Tonight, he takes aim at a Columbus squad that allows a league-worst 35.2 shots per game and the third-most goals at 3.66. And although he managed just one assists at Columbus back on Jan. 11, Kane still has 23 goals in 55 career games versus the Blue Jackets — his most against any Eastern Conference opponent.
San Jose Sharks: C Logan Couture
The Prop: 0.5 Assists (vs. Vancouver)
The Odds: Over +140/Under -172
Couture ranks third on the Sharks with 20 assists this season, and he’s bagged an apple in two of his last five games. While his home numbers don’t look great (six helpers in 22 contests), there’s still a reason to get excited for this one.
For starters, Couture has tallied 20 assists in 42 career games against the Canucks. He’s only put up a higher total against Arizona (21) and Calgary (23). And if you believe in patterns, he’s Couture’s assist totals in his last eight games: 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0. So you could say he’s due.
As for the Canucks, their play has been all over the board this season, resulting in a 22-21-6 record. And although Vancouver is yielding 2.69 goals per game, that number shoots up to 2.93 on the road. In the last four games alone, the Canucks have given up 13 goals (including six to the offensively inept Islanders eight days ago).
San Jose has had some rough luck of late, with a series of one-goal losses to the Hurricanes, Lightning, and Panthers, followed by Monday’s 3-0 setback to Edmonton. Look for the Sharks’ captain to put the team on his back Thursday and lead the way out of the losing skid.
