The regular season will be in the books after tonight’s seven-game finale, and the postseason matchups are set for Round 1.
While it’s tough to gauge the motivation levels for eliminated clubs and lineups for the playoff-bound teams, I’ve still got a trio of NHL player props for Thursday, April 17.
NHL player prop bets today
Foerster 3+ SOG (+205 at bet365)
Shesterkin o24.5 saves (-105 at bet365)
Andersson o1.5 SOG (-115 at bet365)
Best NHL player prop bets for April 17
Tyson Foerster 3+ shots on goal (+205 at bet365)
Philadelphia Flyers winger Tyson Foerster has carved out a larger role down the stretch and has registered three or more shots across eight of his past 16 games. He’s up to 7.72 shots and 14.06 attempts per 60 minutes, averaging 18:55 of ice time per night during this recent stretch — a significant jump from his 5.8 shots and 12.18 attempts per 60 while averaging 16:19 through the first 64 games of the season.
While there’s no way to fully quantify how a meaningless final game of the season will impact Foerster, I’m chalking it up as neutral at worst. The Buffalo Sabres sport a below-average Corsi For percentage at five-on-five, average a healthy 4:46 per game shorthanded, and have allowed a healthy 29.2 shots per game since the trade deadline.
Igor Shesterkin Over 24.5 saves (-105 at bet365)
The Tampa Bay Lightning aren’t resting regulars for the season finale against Igor Shesterkin and the New York Rangers, so I’m expecting the Russian netminder to see close to 30 shots — with the Lightning averaging 28.6 per game and the Rangers allowing the fifth-most shots per contest (29.9).
New York head coach Peter Laviolette has also thrown the lines and defense pairings in the blender the past three games, which isn’t a plus for the possession game, and the Blueshirts have sported a below-average 48.9 CF% at five-on-five this season.
Shesterkin has made 25 or more saves in 31 of 60 starts this season and is in for another busy night at MSG.
Rasmus Andersson Over 1.5 shots on goal (-115 at bet365)
Regardless of whether the Los Angeles Kings opt to rest regulars or not, I like Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson to keep the shots piling up tonight. He’s registered two or more in 12 of his past 13 games to rank second in shots (34) and third in attempts (69) on the Flames.
Andersson also logs a healthy 23:59 of ice time per game and sits in the 93rd percentile of defensemen in shots on goal for the campaign. As a result, I think we’re landing a fair number in the market, and the Kings have also surrendered the 10th most shots to opposing defensemen over their past 10 games.
Live NHL odds
Here are the full NHL odds for all of today’s matchups.
Not intended for use in MA.
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