The first full Saturday slate of the 2024-25 NHL season is here and with it comes 13 games and 12 hours of hockey.
I’ll look for Connor McDavid and Mikko Rantanen to feast on lesser competition while a Brady Tkachuk pick rounds out my NHL player props for Saturday, October 12.
NHL prop picks and best bets for October 12
- Connor McDavid Over 1.5 points (-130 at bet365)
- Mikko Rantanen Over 0.5 goals (-111 at Pinnacle)
- Brady Tkachuk Over 4.5 shots on goal (+115 at bet365)
Picks made on 10-12 at 9:00 a.m. ET.
Today’s NHL prop picks and best bets
Prop bet #1: Connor McDavid Over 1.5 points
It was a rough start to the season for Connor McDavid and his Edmonton Oilers as they were blanked 6-0 by the Jets in their opening game, but my NHL picks expect things to turn around for both club and captain as they face off against the lowly Chicago Blackhawks.
Edmonton opened as a massive -350 favorite for this game, and for good reason. The Blackhawks aren’t exactly expected to be a top team after finishing second-last in the NHL with 52 points last season. Chicago’s defense also ranked fourth-worst in the league after allowing 289 goals, or just over 3.5 goals per game.
To make matters worse for Chicago, they’ll be facing a rested McDavid on the second half of a back-to-back with Petr Mrazek expected to get the start. Mrazek allowed four goals on just 26 shots in his first appearance of the season and has posted a sub-.900 SV% in two of his last three campaigns.
McDavid has collected at least one point in nine straight meetings against the Blackhawks, with multiple points in seven of those games.
Prop bet #2: Mikko Rantanen Over 0.5 goals
Like McDavid and the Oilers, Mikko Rantanen and the Colorado Avalanche enjoy a significant betting edge heading into tonight’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets as the hosts opened as a huge -318 favorite.
The Avalanche were clobbered 8-4 by the Golden Knights in their opening contest but Rantanen had a fantastic individual performance as he scored a hat trick. The Avs star looks poised for another big night on the score sheet as he aims to take advantage of a team that’s expected to end up near the bottom of the standings.
Last season, Columbus ranked fourth-last in the league standings on points (66) but second to last in goals against (300), with only San Jose allowing more (331).
Goaltending could be an issue again for the Blue Jackets as a tandem of Elvis Merzlikins and Daniil Tarasov doesn’t inspire much confidence. Merzlikins, who will likely carry the bulk of the workload in net, allowed three goals on 26 shots in the season opener and has been a sub-.900 goaltender for two straight years.
Rantanen scored once on the power play in Colorado’s season opener and could make some hay on the man-advantage against a Columbus penalty kill that was 26th in the NHL last season at just 76.3%.
Prop bet #3: Brady Tkachuk Over 4.5 shots on goal
Brady Tkachuk has built a reputation as one of the league’s most prominent volume shooters and that trend held up in the Ottawa Senators’ season opener as the captain clocked five shots on net against the Panthers.
Tkachuk ranked fourth among all skaters with 357 shots on net last season — just under 4.5 per game. Since Tkachuk entered the league in 2018-19, he ranks fifth among all players in shots (1,690), about 100 more than McDavid and just behind Alex Ovechkin.
The Montreal Canadiens ranked sixth-last in goals against (281) and third last in shots against per game (33.4) last season and haven’t looked like a defensive powerhouse to start this campaign. The Habs gave up 48 shots to the Maple Leafs in their opening game and 29 more to the Bruins on Thursday.
Today’s NHL games
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