From Tuesday’s loaded nine-game NHL slate, I’m targeting a pair of prop bets.
The pregame narrative: The New Jersey Devils are rolling but Jack Hughes isn’t. I’m fading his shot total against the Florida Panthers. Elsewhere, backing Leon Draisaitl and Connor Bedard to both record a point comes out to even money.
Find these NHL prop picks for Oct. 15 below.
NHL prop picks
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Best Bet: Hughes under 3.5 shots (-136)
Hughes is one of the league’s best players but this is asking a lot.
The Hurricanes are a defensively sound team with a massive rest advantage. Carolina has only played one game this season and it was last Friday. New Jersey, meanwhile, is playing its sixth game and third in four nights.
Hats off to the schedule makers for that one.
Hughes hasn’t scored yet and is 1-4 against this line, logging only two shots in three of five games. He ranks eighth among all Devils players in 5v5 chances per 60 minutes (12.31), according to Natural Stat Trick.
Let’s get back to Carolina for a second. On a per-60 basis, the Hurricanes gave up the fewest even-strength shots (25.28) and chances (48.49) last year.
In their 4-1 season-opening loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Canes only allowed 23 shots. Nikita Kucherov (six SOG) was the only opposing player who cleared this line.
Key stat: Hughes is averaging 3.0 shots per game this year.
Quick picks
Parlay: Draisaitl and Bedard 1+ point each (+100): The Edmonton Oilers have a Stanley Cup hangover sans the Stanley Cup. They’re 0-3 through three games with just three total goals.
But I expect them to break out of this funk sooner than later and Draisaitl getting involved would be a good place to start.
The superstar forward inked an eight-year, $112-million contract with Edmonton this offseason, which will make him the highest-paid player in the league next season.
He definitely deserves that kind of money. Draisaitl has put up 100-plus points in five of the last six seasons with the exception being an 84-point campaign in the 2020-21 COVID-shortened season. He played at a 127-point pace that year.
As for Bedard, the 2023 No. 1 pick is well on his way to securing a bag of his own.
He won the Calder Trophy last season with 61 points in 68 games. He’s off to a red-hot start this year with five points in three games, most recently netting a goal and two assists against the Oilers.
His Chicago Blackhawks take on the Calgary Flames, which should be a tasty matchup.
Calgary doesn’t have a top goaltender after trading Jacob Markstrom to the Devils. Dustin Wolf is in net tonight and he had a 3.16 GAA and 0.893 SV% last year.
Picks made at 12:12 p.m. ET on 10/15/2024.
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Avery joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2022 before stepping into a full-time role soon after. He loves betting on and analyzing golf — mainly because it’s easier than actually playing — but is a fan of all sports, from the NFL to the UFC.