After a quiet one-game slate on Wednesday, the NHL turns it up with a big nine-game set tonight. There are a lot of moving pieces that the books are slow to price correctly and I'm even adding a stack to tonight's card for +170.
These are my three favorite NHL player props for Thursday, October 24.
NHL prop picks and best bets for October 24
Brayden Schenn o0.5 pts (+124 at DraftKings)
Barrett Hayton o0.5 pts (+105 at BetMGM)
Boldy o0.5 pts + Eriksson Ek o0.5 pts (+170 at DraftKings)
Picks made on 10-24 at 9:10 a.m. ET.
Today’s NHL prop picks and best bets
Prop bet #1: Brayden Schenn Over 0.5 points
The St. Louis Blues got awful news after losing center Robert Thomas to a fractured ankle. He'll be out at least a month, leaving a void for C1 and the top power play, which captain Brayden Schenn will fill. He'll play on PP1 and center Jake Neighbours and Brandon Saad. It might not be the Blues' best line as the Texier/Buchnevich/Kyrou trio is better but might see the more difficult matchups as the road team without the last change.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are coming off an awful performance vs. the Blue Jackets on Tuesday and might tighten up, making today's game a low-scoring one, but Schenn's price for a point has not been adjusted enough and is a buy based on cost more than anything. The power play has been stale to open the year so hopefully some personnel changes will give it a boost, but there are some other motivating factors for the Blues.
Toronto head coach Craig Berube spent eight years with the Blues before coming to Toronto this year. This game has been circled on their calendar and Schenn will be amped up for his coach and his new role.
Prop bet #2: Barrett Hayton Over 0.5 points
Barrett Hayton is still plus money for a point and will be a buy for me until it falls to -125, which is where my buy point is if he is playing 17:30 a game. He is still centering the top line and PP1 and gets an elite matchup at home vs. the Colorado Avalanche, who have been giving it up all season.
This game could also see a ton of PP opportunities as the AVs rank 31st in PK and third in PP%. If Colorado scores with the man advantage, Utah will get plenty of opportunities themselves.
Hayton has points in four of his seven games with six total points on the sheets. The Utah Hockey Club are coming off a shutout loss so the price hasn’t been adjusted, which is great news for a game where I love the Over 6.5.
Prop bet #3: Matt Boldy + Joel Eriksson Ek Over 0.5 points
The Minnesota Wild might be the most undervalued team in hockey. They’ve yet to lose in regulation and are up +2.04 units through six games. They’re being undervalued again tonight vs. the Tampa Bay Lightning, who are not getting good goaltending and Minnesota's second line is a great target for a stack.
Matthew Boldy and Joel Eriksson Ek are paying +170 to each score a point tonight vs. a Tampa team that has given up 22 goals over its last four games. Andrei Vasilevskiy will likely get the nod after watching on Tuesday, but he has a sub-.900 save percentage since the beginning of last year over 57 games.
Boldy and Eriksson Ek correlate on L2 and PP1 and with them being on the second line and on the road, they will get the easier matchups as the Bolts will likely deploy their best vs. the Kirill Kaprizov line.
If you can’t stack lines, take Eriksson Ek for a point at -120. He is the center and gets plenty of touches. Eriksson Ek will be playing his third game since returning from injury and is coming off a two-point effort on Tuesday.
Today’s NHL games
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