Mark Lammey
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The first puck drop of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs takes place on Monday night in Carolina to kickoff arguably the best time in sports. With each and every matchup featuring the NHL’s best teams, it can be much more difficult to find sides and totals that you love. Fear not, as we’re still here to provide you with the top NHL player props for the opening night of the postseason. We’re targeting skaters in the early and late games, so let’s get right into it. Along with our player props, be sure to check out all of our NHL picks for tonight’s playoff action.
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David Pastrnak over 0.5 goals (+105)
There’s no surprise where we’re headed for our featured play. The Boston Bruins have come through for bettors all season, and Pastrnak has been no different. He led the Bru-crew to setting NHL records for wins (65) and points (135) in a season. While that’s been all over the headlines, let’s focus on just Pastrnak. Connor McDavid is all but a lock to win the Hart Trophy for the league’s MVP, but if not for his historic season, Pastrnak would likely be the favorite. His 113 points are tied for the 3rd-most in the NHL, while his 61 goals were just 3 behind McDavid for the most.
In fact, that was the most in Boston franchise history since 1989-90. Pastrnak and the Bruins will be hosting the Florida Panthers to open up their first-round series, which should have him licking his chops. It’s been a great matchup for Pastrnak, as he scored a goal in all 4 games against the Panthers this season. You can’t ask for more consistency than that. It’s also worth noting that Pastrnak ended the season with 2 hat-tricks in Boston’s last 7 games. There’s no concern with him being willing to pull the trigger either; Pastrnak’s 407 shots were the most in the league. It may not be the most outside-the-box play, but it’s simply too good to ignore.
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Viktor Arvidsson over 0.5 points (-120)
What is a more outside-the-box play is our 2nd skater. That’s right, we’re focused on an Edmonton Oilers game without targeting Connor McDavid. Better yet, we’re not even going with Leon Draisaitl. We’re avoiding the inflated prices of the Oilers on home ice altogether. The Los Angeles Kings don’t have the same type of household names, but that’s providing us with much more value. Anze Kopitar is a seasoned veteran that leads the team in points, while Kevin Fiala came over from the Minnesota Wild this past offseason. However, we’re targeting Arvidsson.
He’s a skater that’s more known for his volume shooting, and he indeed has the 2nd-most shots on the team. He also had 59 points through 77 games and was consistent against the Oilers. LA and Edmonton split their season series 2-2, but Arvidsson had at least a point in 3 of those 4 games, which no other Kings skater can say. He also ended the season with at least a point in 4 of LA’s last 7 games, including 3 assists in their finale. Arvidsson is also on the first power play unit with Kopitar, Fiala and others. He may not be able to lead LA to an upset, but we’ll trust him to get in the box score with a point to close out the night.
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