NHL Prop Bets with Chris Meaney (4/20)

Welcome to the Stanley Cup Playoffs NHL Prop Bets article w/ Chris Meaney. There are four games on the slate for Thursday. We’re calling this NHL slate the road dogs as all four of the home favorites are down 1-0 in their respective series.

I understand that some books will only allow you to take a shot prop in regulation (60 minutes). Try to avoid those situations. As we saw last night, games get extended into overtime quite often during the NHL Playoffs, which can help us hit some of our props. Use our Prop Shop for the best possible odds.

This is a great night for SGP point parlays, so be sure to check out our FTN Bets Tracker for more. With our betting package you get all of our picks across all sports, plus access to our Discord channel and to our projections. Promo code Meaney will get you 20% off all packages at FTN. 

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Be sure to check out Mean Streets for daily picks and Dangle Bet Celly for full NHL breakdowns each Tuesday and Thursday. 

Season Record: 72-65, +6.11 (Bonus not included in record)

The reason I list three official picks is because I don’t want to confuse anyone with too many picks. I also feel strong about my bonus picks, but they are longer shots. If you’re looking for more be sure to check out our Pick Tracker. 

The Best NHL Prop Bets

Evan Rodrigues Over 2.5 SOG

(+105, DraftKings Sportsbook)

The Avalanche only managed one goal in Game 1, but their top line players were all over the net at 5v5. Rodrigues, Nathan MacKinnon and defenseman Cale Makar all had eight shot attempts. Rodrigues had six shots on goal at 5v5 and his center MacKinnon finished with seven shots on 11 total attempts at all strengths. I think this line will continue to get attempts throughout the series and there will be more desperation in Game 2 having lost the opener on home ice. 

Bonus

• Nathan MacKinnon O 4.5 SOG (-140, FanDuel)
• Rodrigues Point (-110, DraftKings)
• MacKinnon O 1.5 PTS (-108, FanDuel)
• Cale Makar O 2.5 SOG & MacKinnon O 4.5 SOG SGP (+170, Bet365)
• Makar O 2.5 SOG, MacKinnon O 4.5 SOG, Rodrigues O 2.5 SOG, Eeli Tolvanen O 1.5 SOG & Vince Dunn O 1.5 SOG SGP (+1200, Bet365)

Vladimir Tarasenko Point 

(+102, FanDuel Sportsbook)

This was a bonus play in Tuesday’s article, and I wasn’t going to include it again, but we’re getting better odds. I expect a better game from the Devils, but Tarasenko is a threat to pick up a point every night as long as he’s playing with Artemi Panarin. Tarasenko scored the opening goal for the Rangers in Game 1, and he finished with three shots attempts and two shots on goal at 5v5. Only his linemate Panarin had more attempts (4) and shots (3) at 5v5. Their six shots as a line (Vincent Trocheck) led New York in shots at even strength (6).

Bonus

• Chris Kreider O 2.5 SOG (+110, DraftKings)
• Jack Hughes O 3.5 SOG & Nico Hischier O 2.5 SOG SGP (+170, Bet365)
• Tarasenko & Artemi Panarin Points SGP (+175, Bet365)
• Kreider & Mika Zibanejad Points SGP (+150, Bet365)

William Nylander Over 3.5 SOG

(+105, FanDuel Sportsbook)

We’re going back to Nylander in Game 2 as he was the best player on the ice for the Maple Leafs. The winger led all skaters with eight shot attempts and four shots on goal. Six of those attempts came at 5v5, which is something we like to see when targeting shot props. We know Nylander can rack up attempts on the power play. In fact, his goal came on the PP. The power plays are bonus, and it’s sometimes crucial in getting the over on a shot prop. However, 5v5 play is much more important and it was encouraging to see Nylander generate a few scoring chances at even strength, despite how poorly his teammates played. 

As I mentioned Tuesday:

Nylander played a career-high 18:33 this season and took his game to another level along the way. He finished with a career best 40 goals, 87 points and 293 shots on goal. The winger averaged 3.8 shots over 41 home games compared to 3.2 shots per game on the road. This may seem like a tough matchup against the three-time defending Eastern Conference champion Tampa Bay Lightning, but Nylander has excelled in all three games against them. He had six shots, eight shots and five shots in his most recent game against them April 11. The winger has 24 shots on goal in his last four games.

Updated: Nylander has 28 shots in his last five games and he’s cleared 3.5 shots in all four games against TB this season.

Bonus

• Brayden Point O 2.5 SOG, -112 (BetRivers)
• Matthews Assist (-106, FanDuel)

Goal Scorers

Nathan MacKinnon, Auston Matthews, Mika Zibanejad, Brayden Point, Jack Hughes, Mikko Rantanen, Jared McCann, Reilly Smith, Kyle Connor

I shared a few other NHL props to consider on Mean Streets: