Stacks weren’t stacking last night, so let’s just get conventional as I throw down my three favorite NHL player props of the night.
Tonight, I'm backing the Habs' best power-play producer at +300, looking for goals in Buffalo, and fading everything to do with the Rangers.
These are my three favorite NHL picks for Friday, December 20.
NHL prop picks and best bets for December 20
Laine o0.5 power play points (+300 at bet365)
Maple Leafs TT o3.5 (-105 at bet365)
Zibanejad u0.5 points (-115 at DraftKings)
Picks made on 12-20 at 11:00 a.m. ET.
Today’s NHL prop picks and best bets
Prop bet #1: Patrick Laine Over 0.5 power play points
Patrick Laine has six goals in his seven games since returning to the Montreal Canadiens lineup and all of those have come on the power play. He has 12 shots on net over his last two games, is coming off a hat trick, and faces a Detroit Red Wings team that has the second-worst penalty kill in hockey and have been at sub-70% over the last 30 days as well.
There are a lot of ways to bet this game, including Laine's Over 2.5 shots on goal at a very reasonable -115, or a potential SOG ladder to maybe even six (+1,000), but his power-play point at +300 is the best look.
on pense encore à hier...
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) December 18, 2024
about last night...#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/AGYDmGWgcx
The Wings have tried to cut back on the penalties, but the Habs also draw a ton of them themselves as no team is drawing more penalties per game over the last 30 days than Montreal. Over that same stretch, there are only two other teams that are taking and drawing 8+ total penalties per game compared to Montreal.
Prop bet #2: Maple Leafs team total Over 3.5
The Buffalo Sabres have dropped 10 straight games and the Toronto Maple Leafs will be playing in their fourth city in six days with a backup likely in net. This game is shaping up to look like Sunday's meeting, which means more Toronto goals and a bet on the team total Over 3.5 at -105.
The Toronto offense was as efficient as ever on Wednesday, chasing Jake Oettinger on his birthday in Dallas with four goals on 12 shots. The top line is loaded and the third line is starting to contribute.
The Leafs might not be playing their best defensive hockey tonight, much like last Sunday. Two-way scoring is likely, which should keep this new Toronto offense engaged for 60 minutes and not just protecting its lead.
It’s a mess for the Sabres, who are riding a 10-game losing streak and have seen the Over hit in seven of those 10 losses. This is not a team playing close and competitive games and the PK just gave up three goals to the Habs on Tuesday.
If and when Toronto appoints a backup as the starter, this total will move to 6.5. It's a team total of 3.5 vs. a club on an epic 10-game skid whom they just scored on five times less than a week ago.
Prop bet #3: Mika Zibanejad Under 0.5 points
The New York Rangers have fixed nothing and might have the worst locker room in sports. They continue to lose and have scored just seven goals over the last five games. Mika Zibanejad is skating on the third line and I’m not worried about him contributing to the power play, especially with Artemi Panarin not rushing back to the lineup.
Zibanejad is worth a fade for zero points today at -115. He hasn’t recorded a point in three straight games and has pointed in just 43% of his games over the last 30 days. Tonight is also a bad matchup for the Rangers.
Dallas Stars goalie Jake Oettinger was just pulled in his last start, which was also his birthday, so the Rangers will get an angry version of a Top-5 goalie. Couple that with Zibanejad playing with Reilly Smith and Jimmy Vesey at even strength and getting under 16 minutes of ice time of late, and you have a great recipe for a player Under tonight.
It’s the same price as the Rangers’ team total Under 2.5, which I also like tonight for arguably the biggest shitshow of a franchise in hockey right now.
NHL odds today
Here are the full NHL odds for all of today’s matchups.
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