There are nine NHL games on Monday, and I’ve got three prop picks to share.
The pregame narrative: The Pittsburgh Penguins continue their disappointing season out west against one of the league’s elite defensive teams. Because of that, I’m fading Sidney Crosby. Tomas Hertl and Seth Jarvis have my attention elsewhere in the prop markets.
Check out my NHL prop picks for Jan. 20.
NHL prop picks
Go to full NHL betting markets.
Best bet: Hertl to score 1+ points (-141)
The Vegas Golden Knights are on a three-game skid, but that doesn’t mean Hertl has been bad. In fact, he’s been great.
- Hertl has six points in the past three games — and 10 points over his last seven.
- He’s 6-1 against this line during that time.
The St. Louis Blues are also a below-average defensive team, leaving much to be desired. They allow 3.0 goals per game and have the NHL’s sixth-worst penalty kill (73.9%).
That all works in favour of Hertl, who plays on the Knight’s first power-play unit. Vegas converts on the PP at a 26.6% rate.
Key stat: Hertl has four power-play points in his last five games.
Quick picks
Crosby under 0.5 points (+138): I wouldn’t fade Crosby on most nights but this is probably the toughest matchup for any player.
The Los Angeles Kings allow the second-fewest goals (2.42) and fewest shots (24.7) per game.
And their defence has been playing even better to start 2025. Since Jan. 1, L.A. has conceded just 10 goals in eight contests.
That’s even more impressive when considering five of those games were played on the road.
L.A. is back at home, where it owns a 14-2-1 record and has allowed only 33 goals (1.9/game).
Crosby has 49 points in 48 games this season but failed to record a point in three of his last five.
Jarvis over 2.5 shots (+125): Jarvis is very active in the opposition’s zone, tallying 104 shots through 39 games.
That equates to an average of 2.6 shots per game, and he and the Carolina Hurricanes have the matchup to do damage on Monday.
The Chicago Blackhawks allow the fifth-most shots against (30.8/game). They also average 8.7 penalty minutes per game, meaning Jarvis could see extended power-play minutes.
Carolina averages 31.8 shots and is expected to have a lot of puck possession as the -300 betting favourite.
That should provide plenty of opportunity for Jarvis to blast shots from anywhere in the offensive zone.
Picks made at 9:30 a.m. ET on 01/20/2025.
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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.