The puck drops in North America on Tuesday, October 8, and I've got a trio of NHL player props to complement the three-game slate.
Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand being held in check by the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers headlines my top NHL picks for tonight’s action.
NHL prop picks and best bets for October 8
- Marchand Under 0.5 points (-105 at BetMGM)
- Maccelli Over 1.5 shots (-145 at bet365)
- Schenn Under 0.5 points (-145 at DraftKings)
Picks made on 10-8 at 10:00 a.m. ET.
Today’s NHL prop picks and best bets
Prop bet #1: Brad Marchand Under 0.5 points
Brad Marchand is no longer a go-to scorer, and his points per 60 minutes have declined in each of the past three seasons. He’s also projected to skate on a new-look line with Charlie Coyle and Morgan Geekie, and the trio only shared the ice for 27:36 at 5-on-5 last year.
This is also a nightmare road matchup against the Stanley Cup champions. The Florida Panthers lost periphery pieces but maintained their corps, and they allowed the third-fewest goals with the second-highest Corsi For percentage at 5-on-5 on home ice last season.
Finally, Marchand’s points per 60 dropped from 2.93 at home to 2.21 on the road in 2023-24, and he’ll spend the bulk of his minutes opposite Florida's top lines.
Prop bet #2: Matias Maccelli Over 1.5 shots
The Chicago Blackhawks allowed the fourth-most shots per 60 minutes last season, and I don't expect their offseason additions to turn them into a shot-suppression team. Chicago was caved in to the tune of a league-low 43.7 Corsi For percentage at 5-on-5, after all.
While Utah Hockey Club winger Matias Maccelli isn’t a proven high-volume shooter, he did show an uptick in shots and attempts to close out the 2023-24 season. Maccelli recorded two or more shots in 10 of the final 14 games, and his 8.61 shots and 14.25 attempts per 60 during the stretch were higher than his respective 6.38 and 12.75 marks through the first 68 games of the year.
Maccelli is also penciled in to line up with Lawson Crouse and Josh Doan to start the season, and he and Doan shared the ice for 105:46 of 5-on-5 ice time and combined for a 54.8 CF% during the highlighted 14-game stretch to close the year.
Prop bet #3: Brayden Schenn Under 0.5 points
The St. Louis Blues have center Brayden Schenn lined up in a defensive role between Mathieu Joseph and Kasperi Kapanen to start the year. Schenn’s offensive numbers declined last season, dropping considerably when he wasn’t skating with top scorers Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou at 5-on-5.
Schenn and Thomas were on the ice for 4.93 goals per 60 minutes across 121:48 of shared ice time at 5-on-5, while Schenn and Kyrou were good for 3.61 across 249:37. It was a different story without Thomas and Kyrou, as Schenn was on the ice for a replacement-level 1.75 goals per 60.
Additionally, Schenn isn’t slated to skate with the No. 1 power-play unit, and I expect more from the Seattle Kraken this season. Seattle No. 1 Joey Daccord posted a .916 SV%, and they were already solid on home ice with the 10th-fewest goals against (2.21) and sixth-fewest expected goals against (2.27) per 60 at 5-on-5 last season.
Today’s NHL games
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