We have a stacked 11-game NHL slate tonight, with plenty of props to choose from.
I’ve compiled my three best NHL player props for Saturday. As always, make sure you keep an eye on the odds and available pricing due to the ever-changing nature of the player prop market.
Here are my free NHL picks for Saturday, December 28.
NHL prop picks and best bets for December 28
Marchenko 1+ goals (+240 at FanDuel)- Monahan 1+ goals (+270 at FanDuel)
Huberdeau Over 0.5 PPP (+330 at bet365)
Picks made on 12-28 at 11:30 a.m. ET.
Today’s NHL prop picks and best bets
Prop bet #1: Kirill Marchenko 1+ goals
The Boston Bruins host the Columbus Blue Jackets as these teams travel back to TD Garden for the second half of their back-to-back, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a similar result to Friday's 6-2 Jackets win.
Kirill Marchenko and Sean Monahan combined for three goals last night, and as the saying goes, “if it ain't broke, don’t fix it."
Marchenko enters this contest in great form, scoring in each of his past three games. This success could continue against goaltender Jeremy Swayman, who is slated to guard the Bruins' cage.
Failing to live up to the expectations of his mighty contract extension, Swayman is 12-10-3 with a .887 SV%. Out of the 20 goaltenders to play at least 23 games, he ranks last in goals saved above expected per 60 minutes.
Prop bet #2: Sean Monahan 1+ goals
My thinking here is simple. I am confident that at least one of Marchenko or Monahan scores, which guarantee a profit. If both score, all the better.
They skate together on the first power-play unit, which is a relatively easy way to attack Boston. The Bruins rank second-last in penalty minutes taken per game and 25th in penalty-kill percentage.
Monahan opened the scoring in last night’s game with a power-play goal, marking his fourth tally on the man-advantage this year. Marchenko and Monahan lead Columbus in scoring, and they are great candidates to repeat their tremendous performances from last night against the same opponent.
Prop bet #3: Jonathan Huberdeau Over 0.5 power-play points
Sticking with this theme of fading poor special teams, we are going to look at Calgary Flames forward Jonathan Huberdeau to record a power-play point in tonight’s nightcap against the San Jose Sharks. This season, San Jose ranks in the bottom half of the league in both penalty minutes taken per game and penalty-kill percentage.
Meanwhile, nearly a third of Huberdeau’s points this year have come on the man-advantage.
Furthermore, goaltending prospect Yaroslav Askarov is projected to start for the Sharks. Askarov has surrendered three or more goals in each of his past two starts, posting a .894 SV% over that stretch.
San Jose is tumbling down the standings with six straight losses, and Huberdeau could help make it seven with a point on the power play, something that I think is more likely to occur than the 23.3% implied probability that +330 suggests.
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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