We’ve got a day full of hockey ahead of us, including three crucial Game 4s.
Matt Boldy has helped the Minnesota Wild take a 2-1 series lead against the Vegas Golden Knights with goals in three straight contests, and he highlights my NHL picks for Saturday, April 26.
NHL player prop bets today
Boldy anytime goalscorer (+195 at Sports Interaction)
MacKinnon o4.5 shots (+120 at Sports Interaction)
Benoit o1.5 blocked shots (-133 at Sports Interaction)
Best NHL player prop bets for April 26
Matt Boldy anytime goalscorer (+195 at Sports Interaction)
Be honest — did you have the Minnesota Wild taking a 2-1 series lead against the Vegas Golden Knights on your bingo card?
Minnesota will look for its third straight victory this afternoon, while Matt Boldy aims to extend his goal streak to four games this postseason.
Boldy and Kirill Kaprizov have absolutely dominated this series for the Wild. The duo has combined for eight goals and 13 points while controlling 58% of the shot attempts and 66% of the expected goals at 5-on-5. Without those two on the ice, Minnesota is getting outshot 2-to-1.
The Wild winger is shooting a blistering 36% overall and 57% at 5-on-5 this postseason. Those rates will obviously come down, but there’s something to be said for having a goaltender’s number.
Nathan MacKinnon Over 4.5 shots (+120 at Sports Interaction)
In another twist, the Colorado Avalanche find themselves down 2-1 to the injury-riddled Dallas Stars, who remain without Jason Robertson and Miro Heiskanen.
That’s no fault of Nathan MacKinnon, who’s been an absolute menace for Colorado. The center leads all skaters with 20 shots this postseason while averaging nearly 25 minutes of ice time, and I’m expecting another high-volume shooting approach tonight as he tries to will his Avs to victory.
MacKinnon has generated at least four shots in each game of this series, including nine in Game 3 and seven in Game 1. Going back to the regular season, the Avalanche superstar has ecliped 4.5 shots in five of his last seven outings.
The Avs will be even more desperate tonight as they look to even up the series at two games apiece, so I suspect MacKinnon will be firing everything on goal.
Simon Benoit Over 1.5 blocked shots (-133 at Sports Interaction)
There’s a new overtime hero in town for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and his name is Simon Benoit.
The defenseman assisted on Max Domi’s winner in Game 2 and scored an overtime goal of his own in Game 3 to help the Leafs mount a 3-0 series lead against the Ottawa Senators.
While another overtime winner could be in the cards for Benoit, I’m focusing on the meat and potatoes of his game: blocked shots.
Benoit has recorded at least two blocks in every game of the series and will likely have to get in the way of a few more tonight against a desperate Senators squad.
Ottawa has dominated the flow of shot attempts in the series, outshooting Toronto 206- 145, and the Sens should be even hungrier with their postseason lives on the line in Game 4.
Toronto’s defense has done an excellent job of clogging lanes, though, as the Leafs rank second among all teams with 67 blocks. That trend will need to continue for Benoit and the Leafs if they plan on wrapping things up tonight.
Live NHL odds
Here are the full NHL odds for all of today’s matchups.
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