{"id":81931,"date":"2020-08-01T08:00:15","date_gmt":"2020-08-01T12:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/?p=81931"},"modified":"2020-07-31T23:07:56","modified_gmt":"2020-08-01T03:07:56","slug":"nathan-mackinnon-favourite-lead-round-robin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2020\/08\/01\/nathan-mackinnon-favourite-lead-round-robin\/","title":{"rendered":"Nathan MacKinnon Favourite To Lead Round Robin In Scoring"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>With the NHL returning on August 1, the action is starting to pick up on gambling sites around the world. Lines are going up on who is going to win, in how many games, and so forth.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportsinteraction.com\/hockey\/nhl-prop-betting\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sports Interaction<\/a> has added some juice to the gambling component. Along with series prices <\/em><em>and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/2020\/07\/14\/jake-guentzel-most-value-stanley-cup-qualifying-round-top-goal-scorer\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">props<\/a>, all eight series\u2019 have top point scorer bets as well as head-to-head matchups with a wager of \u201cwho will score more points in the series? Over the past week, we here at the Last Word on Hockey looked at all eight qualifying round matchups from a gambling perspective. Today, we look at the favourites to lead the round-robin in scoring which begins on August 2 and <\/em><em>where you can make your money. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/m\/mackina01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nathan MacKinnon<\/a><\/strong> is the current favourite.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Nathan MacKinnon Favoured As Top Scorer<\/h2>\n<blockquote class=\"imgur-embed-pub\" lang=\"en\" data-id=\"a\/0Wiv8ne\" data-context=\"false\"><p>&nbsp;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/s.imgur.com\/min\/embed.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Is it no surprise that <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/avalanche\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Colorado Avalanche<\/a> forward Nathan MacKinnon is the favourite to lead the round-robin in scoring. Just look at the player he has become. For the second time in three seasons, MacKinnon has been<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/2020\/07\/21\/nhl-annouces-2020-hart-trophy-finalists\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> up for the Hart Trophy<\/a> as he put the Avalanche on his back. Just look at the goal he scored during the exhibition game this past Wednesday; MacKinnon has become one of the best players in the league. Colorado&#8217;s offence goes through MacKinnon and that makes him an easy favourite.<\/p>\n<h3>Smart Money Bets<\/h3>\n<p>Outside of the favourite, there are other smart money plays that will win you some cash!<\/p>\n<h4><strong>David Pastrnak +900<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>First up is <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/bruins\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Boston Bruins<\/a> forward <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/p\/pastrda01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">David Pastrnak<\/a><\/strong>. Pastrnak led the Bruins in scoring with 95 points this regular season. He anchors a deadly power-play unit and is part of the Bruins top line which includes <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/m\/marchbr03.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brad Marchand<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/b\/bergepa01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Patrice Bergeron<\/a><\/strong>. Pastrnak is only getting better each year and while Marchand led the Bruins last year in scoring, look for Pastrnak to do so in this year&#8217;s post-season.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Nikita Kucherov +1100<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Up next is last year&#8217;s Hart Trophy winner, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/lightning\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tampa Bay Lightning<\/a> forward <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/k\/kucheni01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Nikita Kucherov<\/strong><\/a>. After a disappointing playoff last year, look for Kucherov to rebound in the round-robin. And while he did not put up similar numbers to last year, Kucherov led the team with 85 points. During the exhibition games against the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/panthers\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Florida Panthers<\/a>, Kucherov and the Lightning looked like their old selves. Kucherov is definitely flying under the radar coming into the round-robin and makes him a smart play.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Alex Ovechkin +2000<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Then there is <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/capitals\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Washington Capitals<\/a> forward <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/o\/ovechal01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Alex Ovechkin<\/strong><\/a>. All Ovechkin has been doing is winning scoring titles and leading the league in goals. Again it was an exhibition game, but Ovechkin was in mid-season form. At +2000 this is a good number for those who are looking at some long odds to earn some money.<\/p>\n<h3>Sneaky Good Plays<\/h3>\n<h4><strong>Brayden Point +2500<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>One player to watch coming into the round-robin seeding series is Lightning forward <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/p\/pointbr01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Brayden Point<\/strong><\/a>. He looked strong in his exhibition game, scoring two goals against the Panthers. And while he did finish third in scoring in the Lightning this past season, with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/s\/stamkst01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Steven Stamkos<\/strong><\/a> as a question mark to play, look for Point to step up.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Travis Konecny +2700<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Another play that is a sneaky good play is <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/flyers\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Philadelphia Flyers<\/a> forward <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/k\/konectr01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Travis Konecny<\/strong><\/a>. Konecny led the Flyers in scoring with 61 points. He is part of the Flyers&#8217; top line and is looking like a force coming into the round-robin series. At +2700 it is a sneaky good play because there is a value at this number because anything can happen once the puck drops.<\/p>\n<h3>Worth A Shot<\/h3>\n<p>Other players you may want to look at are <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/k\/kuzneev01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Evgeny Kuznetsov<\/a><\/strong> (+3600) of the Capitals, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/a\/audymjo01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jonathan Marchessault<\/a><\/strong> (+4600) of the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/knights\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Vegas Golden Knights<\/a>, and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/r\/radulal01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Alexander Radulov<\/a><\/strong> (+5100) of the<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/stars\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Dallas Stars<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The choice is yours and yours alone. But we are here to guide through this difficult process. Again this is for entertainment purposes only. Nothing guaranteed, and please enjoy responsibly.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo:<br \/>\n<a id=\"PJQudIdrSiVQFRilZpi0WQ\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.ca\/detail\/1227474079\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'PJQudIdrSiVQFRilZpi0WQ',sig:'6S8pPv78XptHhRuCaAimysm5aRlxCeLR36sDk6Gb6MM=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1227474079',caption: true ,tld:'ca',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With the NHL returning on August 1, the action is starting to pick up on gambling sites around the world. Lines are going up on who is going to win, in how many games, and so forth.\u00a0Sports Interaction has added some juice to the gambling component. Along with series prices and props, all eight series\u2019 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3130,"featured_media":81936,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4547,5,28,2,4548,9,15],"tags":[2568,267,90,450,2540,36,102,762,1123,1355,77,126,39,395,42,634,961,75],"class_list":["post-81931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hockey","category-bruins","category-avalanche","category-featured","category-nhl","category-lightning","category-capitals","tag-alex-ovechkin","tag-alexander-radulov","tag-boston-bruins","tag-brad-marchand","tag-brayden-point","tag-colorado-avalanche","tag-dallas-stars","tag-david-pastrnak","tag-evgeny-kuznetsov","tag-jonathan-marchessault","tag-nathan-mackinnon","tag-philadelphia-flyers","tag-st-louis-blues","tag-steven-stamkos","tag-tampa-bay-lightning","tag-travis-konecny","tag-vegas-golden-knights","tag-washington-capitals"],"modified_by":"Nik Kowalski, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3130"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81931\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}