It's the first Friday of the new year and I've loaded the NHL betting card with more plus-money magic on a five-game slate.
The Ottawa Senators are in trouble without Linus Ullmark, the Florida Panthers are also struggling, and the Chicago Blackhawks are in the worst spot of them all.
These are my three best NHL player props for Friday, January 3.
NHL prop picks and best bets for January 3
Kyrou + Holloway + Schenn o0.5 points each (+475 at bet365)
Bunting o0.5 points (+130 at bet365)
Blackhawks TT u2.5 (+120 at bet365)
Picks made on 1-3 at 11:15 a.m. ET.
Today’s NHL prop picks and best bets
Prop bet #1: Jordan Kyrou + Dylan Holloway + Brayden Schenn Over 0.5 points each
The Ottawa Senators are not in a great place today vs. the St. Louis Blues. They have lost three of their last four games including a 4-2 defeat last night in Dallas and now will have to rely on third-string goalie Anton Forsberg, who has been on the shelf since early December. He had an .862 save percentage in the five games before the injury.
The Sens were a tough team to stack points against as Linus Ullmark has been playing incredibly. He’s injured now and his team is reverting to its early-season form where they ranked 28th in point% from October to the end of November.
The move tonight is stacking the Blues' second line. The trio is now playing together on the “second” power play. It’s more of a 1A and 1B situation, so getting Jordan Kyrou, Dylan Holloway, and center Brayden Schenn all for a point at +475 is a great Friday night stack.
Combined, they have 18 goals over their last 14 games and should find the score sheet again tonight.
Prop bet #2: Michael Bunting Over 0.5 points
Michael Bunting has enjoyed his life of late getting PP1 time with the Pittsburgh Penguins' top dogs. The second-line winger has 14 points over his last 14 games with half of those coming with the man advantage. The Pens have a chance to stack some points vs. the Florida Panthers, who are 1-3 SU over their last four games and have just one total goal across those three losses.
The goaltending situation is not great in Florida tonight either. Sergei Bobrovsky stood on his head in last night’s loss but he will likely give way to Spencer Knight this evening, which is good news for the Pittsburgh offense.
Knight has a 3.80 GAA and a sad .846 SV% over his last five games and the Over 6.5 could be taking some money today. The Pens’ power play has scored in four straight games with seven total PP goals over that stretch. Florida is not playing great hockey right now and the Pittsburgh ML at +170 is very live, but the Bunting point at +130 (buy to +110) is the best value.
Prop bet #3: Blackhawks team total Under 2.5
The Chicago Blackhawks have reached a new low after dropping five straight games, including that embarrassing 6-2 defeat at Wrigley Field in the Winter Classic. It was such a bad loss that the players had to apologize to the city afterward.
The Montreal Canadiens enter in great form having won seven of their last 10 games and riding a three-game winning streak vs. competitive opponents. The Habs are favored and have Sam Montembault, who is 5-1 SU over his last six games with a 2.35 GAA. He will face a Chicago team that hasn’t scored more than two goals in three straight and has the second-worst scoring offense in hockey at 2.50 goals per game.
The Hawks team total Under 2.5 is a hearty +120, which is a strong play from me in a game with a flat-6 total. The Hawks continue to juggle their lines and this might be the worst offense in hockey.
NHL odds today
Here are the full NHL odds for all of today’s matchups.
Not intended for use in MA.
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