The weekend is here and for NHL fans that means one thing — another Saturday chock-full of hockey.
A multi-point prop for the league’s leading scorer, Artemi Panarin, headlines my NHL player props for Saturday, October 19. I’ll also look for a goal from Connor Bedard and a barrage of shots from Zach Werenski.
NHL prop picks and best bets for October 19
- Artemi Panarin Over 1.5 points (+143 at Pinnacle)
- Connor Bedard anytime goal (+191 at Pinnacle)
- Zach Werenski Over 3.5 shots on goal (+124 at Pinnacle)
Picks made on 10-19 at 9:00 a.m. ET.
Today’s NHL prop picks and best bets
Prop bet #1: Artemi Panarin Over 1.5 points
The New York Rangers are off to a solid 3-0-1 start to the season, and that’s thanks in big part to Artemi Panarin. The Breadman has recorded multiple points in each of his first four games, and I'll look for him to notch another multi-point outing vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight.
Panarin had his best game of the season on Thursday as he scored a hat trick and added an assist to climb to the top of the NHL’s scoring leaderboard at 11 points alongside Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin.
The Rangers star has generated five of his points on the power play, and while Toronto’s penalty kill has been solid this season at a respectable 83.3%, the Maple Leafs are giving their opponents a few too many chances.
Toronto is averaging 7:42 of shorthanded time per game — fifth-most among all teams. That’s just about four power plays against per game, and with that many chances, you know Panarin and the Rangers will eventually make the Leafs pay.
New York owns the NHL’s fourth-best power play early on this season at 35.7%, with Panarin factoring on all five of their tallies on the man advantage.
Prop bet #2: Connor Bedard anytime goal
Connor Bedard has had an excellent start to his sophomore campaign with the Chicago Blackhawks as he’s tied for the team lead at seven points through five games. The 19-year-old is sitting on just one goal, but I expect that to change against the Buffalo Sabres tonight.
Bedard has put plenty of rubber on net, registering a team-high 17 shots as well as 19 scoring chances according to Natural Stat Trick, which puts him in the Top 20 league-wide. However, the sharpshooter has converted on just 5.9% of his shots this season — about half of his 10.7% rate last year — so the goals are bound to start coming eventually.
The Sabres are also one of the weakest defensive teams in the early going, averaging four goals against per game, while neither Devon Levi nor Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has been impressive in the cage.
Luukkonen owns a 3.69 GAA and an .874 SV% through three games while Levi (3.79 GAA, .874%) has been just slightly worse in his three appearances.
Prop bet #3: Zach Werenski Over 3.5 shots on goal
You don't normally think of the Columbus Blue Jackets as a high-scoring team, but they’ve quietly been one of the league’s better offensive teams through the early part of the 2024-25 season, averaging 4.25 goals per game (fourth).
Zach Werenski has been an integral part of Columbus’ attack with four points in four games, but even more impressively, he leads the clubs with 20 shots on net — seven more than his next-closest teammate.
Werenski’s five shots per game rank first among all defensemen and second among all skaters in the NHL to Nikita Kucherov (5.33). The Blue Jackets blueliner has chucked at least three shots on net in each of his games this year, including seven in his season opener against the Minnesota Wild.
Minnesota ranks 27th in the NHL in shots against per contest (32.5) and Werenski will be on the ice for nearly half the game (25:41 TOI), so my NHL picks like his chances of cashing the Over on 3.5 shots tonight.
Today’s NHL games
Not intended for use in MA.
Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
