Several NHL teams start their seasons tonight and I have three prop picks from different games.
The pregame narrative: Zach Hyman is coming off a career season and I’m backing him to score in the opener. Elsewhere, I’m taking Quinn Hughes to score a power play point and Michael Bunting to get on the scoresheet against the New York Rangers.
Find these two NHL props picks for October 9 below.
NHL prop picks
Go to full NHL betting markets.
Best Bet: Zach Hyman to score (+120)
Right off rip, I jumped over to take a peek at Connor McDavid’s props but he carries -127 odds to score two-plus points.
Although that’s not a huge amount of juice, I prefer to get behind the No. 1 beneficiary of McDavid’s playmaking.
Hyman scored 54 goals in 80 games last year and 35 were assisted by McDavid. In my view, If the Oilers captain scores multiple points, there’s a good chance Hyman is bagging a goal.
The winger netted the third most goals in the league last year and is a threat to get into scoring position no matter who has the puck.
Key stat: Hyman scored 16 goals in 25 games during last season’s playoff run.
Quick picks
Hughes to score 1+ power play points (+130): I’m looking to find value on Hughes who is -230 to score a point.
The Calgary Flames have one of the weaker rosters in the NHL and had a bottom-half penalty kill percentage last season (29.7%).
When they did have success, it often fell on the back of Jacob Markstrom who has parted for the New Jersey Devils.
That leaves Dan Vladar to hold down the crease, for now, and his 3.61 GAA and .882 SV% are very unencouraging.
Hughes recorded 38 of his 92 points on the powerplay last season. Two of his three points against the Flames came with the man advantage.
Bunting to score 1+ points (-109): This bet is a lot more simple. Bunting just needs to find his way onto the scoresheet.
On a base level, he had a decent season, scoring 45 points in 81 games. But when narrowed down to his time with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the results are a lot more intriguing.
Bunting played 21 games with the Pens following the trade deadline and was able to produce 19 points –That’s near the point-per-game pace.
It’s not unusual for wingers to come to Pittsburgh and dominate with Sidney Crosby and/or Evgeni Malkin and Bunting is no exception.
He slots in on the second line with Malkin and is expected to get time on the powerplay.
Picks made at 11:21 a.m. ET on 10/09/2024.
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.