Ryan Hodges
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This week in the NHL starts off strong with a great 9-game slate. Games will begin at 7:00 pm ET and run through the entire night. There continues to be intriguing matchups as it remains to be seen which teams are overachieving, which are underachieving and which may actually be for real. Several teams suited up on Monday fall into one of the aforementioned categories. Soaking in the action will be a great way for hockey fans to start the week. You can also find out our NHL predictions for today’s slate, but for now, let’s dive into our best NHL prop bets.
David Pastrnak over 0.5 goals (-115)
The Bruins are 7-0-1 this season and a big reason why is the performance of David Pastrnak. Boston had a historically good season last year and Pastrnak was a major factor. The same appears to be the case this season. Through 8 games, he has tallied a team-leading 8 goals and 13 points. Those are good for the tied-2nd most goals in the NHL and tied-4th most points. The Bruins and their stars appear to be picking up right where they left off last regular season.
The Bruins may have a little extra jump in their step facing the Panthers. Florida shockingly eliminated Boston in the first round of the playoffs last year and there is still a sour taste for the Bruins. Look for them to come out with a little extra jam in this game. Pastrnak is on the first line and top power play with a combination of Brad Marchand, Pavel Zacha, James van Riemsdyk and Charlie McAvoy. The opportunity and urgency will be there for Pastrnak to score and pad his numbers.
Check out our NHL best bets for Monday’s slate
Reilly Smith over 0.5 points (-115)
A 3-5-0 start is not how the Penguins envisioned the first few weeks of their season going. Things have not gone great but fortunately for the Penguins, there is plenty of hockey left to play this year. Not that Pittsburgh has played under a certain level of intensity, but I’m expecting them to up the ante moving forward to try to break out of this early-season slump. While they look to break out, Pittsburgh’s top players will see more ice time and more opportunity to produce.
Being a Stanley Cup winner and on the second line with Evgeni Malkin and Rickard Rakell, Reilly Smith certainly qualifies as one of Pittsburgh’s top players. Smith has 2 goals and 4 assists for 6 points in 8 games. Malkin has 4 goals and 9 points so far. This Penguins second line is producing at a decent clip and Smith is also on the second power play. Look for Pittsburgh to play with added intensity and for their top players like Reilly Smith to be in the mix on the scoresheet.
Target our expert’s NHL mega parlay at +815 odds tonight
