Ryan Hodges
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It has been a relatively quiet week in the NHL strictly in terms of the sheer volume of games. Saturday bucks the quiet trend, as there are 13 games on tap in the NHL beginning at 1PM ET and going all through the afternoon, evening, and night. No matter what you have going on, hockey will be waiting for you when you wrap up any obligations. This is a fantastic day and night of hockey that you will not want to miss.
You can find out our 2 best NHL player prop bets below, but make sure you also read our NHL predictions for today’s games.
Elias Lindholm, VAN, Over 0.5 points (-125)
Elias Lindholm had a great debut with his new team earlier this week; he buried 2 goals in his first game with the Canucks. He has a little pep in his step and has a good opportunity to continue producing on Saturday. The Canucks play the Red Wings, who will be a tough opponent, but could foster a high scoring game. Vancouver scores the 2nd most goals per game in the NHL and Detroit scores the 5th most goals per game.
Coupled with strong goal scoring for the Red Wings is weaker goal prevention. Detroit ranks just 22nd in the league in goals allowed per game. If this game has a high total as the majority of both teams’ games this season have, look for Lindholm to be in the mix. He skates on a line with Elias Pettersson and is already slotted on the top power play with Petterson, Brock Boeser, J.T. Miller and Quinn Hughes. Lindholm has a great chance to further his good first impression.
Read our Mega Parlay for Saturday’s action!
Nikita Kucherov, TB, Over 0.5 goals (-110)
Nikita Kucherov has had an unbelievable career, which — outside of his 2 Stanley Cups — includes a 113-point season and a 128-point season. That in mind, he is on pace this season to have the best year of his career at 1.71 points per game. Kucherov leads the NHL with 87 points, is 3rd in the league with 33 goals and leads the league with 54 assists. He is one of the best players in the world and gets a favorable matchup on Saturday.
The Lightning are playing well; they have 8 wins in their last 11 games plus 8 wins in the last 10 played against the Blue Jackets. Columbus, on the other hand, has 5 wins in its last 17 games and has 2 wins in its last 10 played at home. The Jackets rank 31 out of 32 teams in goals allowed per game. Kucherov and his star linemates should be licking their chops. This could be a stat-padding game for him.
Read our full full analysis of Saturday’s 13-game slate.
