The Colorado Avalanche and Vancouver Cancuks headline Monday’s NHL schedule.
The pregame narrative: Both teams can be weak on the defensive end, so I’m backing the over on three player props featuring Elias Pettersson, Casey Mittelstadt and Artturi Lehkonen.
Check out my Avalanche vs. Canucks prop picks.
Avalanche vs. Canucks prop picks
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Best bet: Pettersson to score 1+ points (-143)
Pettersson can be inconsistent but he’s still having a strong season.
The centreman has 26 points in 29 games. On Monday, he faces an Avalanche squad that hasn’t been the best defensive team, by any means.
Colorado allows the fourth-most goals per game (3.5) and has the league’s seventh-worst penalty kill (74.7%).
Considering Pettersson has eight power play points this season, he could easily get on the board against a struggling PK unit.
The forward hasn’t scored a point in back-to-back games, but I like the prospect of him getting on the score sheet on Monday.
Key stat: Pettersson is 16-13 against this line this season.
Quick picks
Mittelstadt to score 1+ points (+105): I like the value of this pick at plus money.
Mittelstadt is fourth on the Avs with 22 points in 32 games. He plays on the first PP unit, where he’s recorded nine points.
He had no points between Nov. 21 and Dec. 5 but has bounced back with four points in the six games since.
His full-season point total is all the more impressive considering he didn’t record a point for an eight-game stretch.
There’s too much talent surrounding Mittelstadt on the first line/PP1 that I can’t pass on this price.
Lehkonen anytime goalscorer (+215): This is the best value on any goalscorer prop in this game.
Lehkonen started the season injured but has scored 10 goals in his first 20 games back.
To make things even better, the winger has a goal in six of the last nine games.
Lehkonen plays on the top forward line with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, who are both inside the top-three in the NHL for points.
Picks made at 2:03 p.m. ET on 12/16/2024.
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Spencer is a true sports junkie. A graduate of the Sports Journalism program at Centennial College, he first joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2023. He is now a contributing writer. He loves finding the edge to bet on in all sports but has a deep passion for the NBA and UFC. Previous stops include Sportsnet.