The National Hockey League week kicks off with a bounty of betting opportunities on Monday night. A couple of elite goal scorers look to find the twine, while a division leader aims to bounce back after a brutal West Coast swing.
Here are four prop bets you can find at legal US NHL betting sites.
Dylan Larkin Power Player Points – Over 0.5
Larkin and the Red Wings host the Leafs tonight in a matchup between two of the hottest teams in the league.
These two last met on Oct. 8 in a penalty-filled affair that saw 11 minors called in the game. Larkin leads Detroit in power play time (4:05), and just over a third of his total points come on the PP (8).
The Red Wings have been efficient with the extra man this year, 23.3% (11th), while the Leafs sit in the bottom half of the league with just a 78.4% penalty kill rate (17th).
Mika Zibanejad Anytime Goal Scorer
Mika Zibanejad is due for a goal. The New York Rangers center is tied for the team lead in goals (10) but hasn’t popped one in four straight games. He has yet to go five games without scoring this year.
The Rangers have lost two in a row and will have added incentive against crosstown foe New Jersey. New York will be looking to close the 12-point gap between it and the division-leading Devils.
Zibanejad does most of his damage on the power play (7 goals), and this could be a chippy contest between two teams with no love lost.
Golden Knight at Blue Jackets – Golden Knights -1.5
VGK will be out for blood after a tough two-game trip to the Pacific Northwest. The Knights went 0-2 and were outscored 9-3 against the Kraken and Canucks.
Vegas now heads east and looks to take out its frustration on the lowly Blue Jackets. The Jackets sit last in the Metropolitan Division and have lost three of their last four.
Columbus gives up plenty of shots (36.3, 31st) which has translated into a heap of goals for opponents (4.2, 31st). It could be a shooting gallery for the Knights, who have been filling up the net this year (3.48, 7th).
Nikita Kucherov Anytime Goal Scorer
Nikita Kucherov hasn’t gone three games without scoring a goal in over a month. He hasn’t found the back of the net in his last two contests, so we like his chances tonight.
The Lightning head to Buffalo to face a Sabres team that loves giving up goals. They rank 24th in the league in goals against (3.48), which hasn’t been helped by a dreadful 73.1% PK rate (27th).
Tampa Bay has the league’s seventh-best power play, led by Kucherov’s 14 PP points. Look for Nikita to eat tonight after a two-game fast.
