NHL Player Props & Best Bets Today: Schedule, Picks for Thursday's Stanley Cup Playoffs Action

The road underdogs ran the table on Tuesday, so there’s a lot at stake for the favored home teams during Thursday’s slate of rematches. Sportsbook Review betting analyst Neil Parker offers his top NHL bets based on the odds from our best NHL betting sites.

Three of the four playoff series are now tied at 1-1 following Wednesday’s games, and Game 2 remains incredibly important in an NHL playoff series. The winning club either claims a commanding 2-0 lead or wipes the slate clean and shortens it to a best-of-five bout.

A pair of heavyweight squads will garner most of the headlines ahead of and after Thursday’s games, with the reigning Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche and hot-button Toronto Maple Leafs both looking to equal their series. The New Jersey Devils and Vegas Golden Knights will both also seek to avoid suiting up down 2-0 on the road for Game 3 on Saturday.

Here are our best NHL picks (odds via DraftKings Sportsbook and BetMGM; Pick confidence is based on a 1-to-5-star scale).

Thursday’s NHL schedule and odds

(odds via DraftKings)

• Tampa Bay Lightning (+145) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (-170)
• New York Rangers (+110) vs. New Jersey Devils (-130)
• Seattle Kraken (+190) vs. Colorado Avalanche (-225)
• Winnipeg Jets (+135) vs. Vegas Golden Knights (-155)

Thursday’s NHL best bets

• Player prop: Evan Rodrigues Over 2.5 shots (+105 via BetMGM) ⭐⭐
• Player prop parlay: Nico Hischier + Jack Eichel both Over 2.5 shots (+165 via DraftKings) ⭐⭐
• Player prop: Alex Killorn Under 0.5 points (+106 via FanDuel) ⭐⭐⭐
• No goals in first 10 minutes round robin (+845 via FanDuel) ⭐

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Thursday’s NHL player prop picks

Evan Rodrigues Over 2.5 shots (+105 via BetMGM) ⭐⭐

I’m not overthinking this one.

As long as Rodrigues is skating on the No. 1 line with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, the third wheel will spin. Rodrigues registered six shots and 10 attempts across a healthy 19:55 of ice time in Game 1, and I’m expecting him to produce another solid showing with the Avs down in the series.

Additionally, he isn’t a flash in the pan. Rodrigues ranked third in shots and fourth in attempts per 60 minutes during the regular season.

This is only a two-star recommendation because there’s always the potential for Colorado to make line adjustments ahead of or during Thursday’s game. Rodrigues can still clear this total if he's slotted down the depth chart, but the possibility of fewer minutes would obviously cut into his shooting opportunities.

Still, I was surprised to see plus-money odds available for a proven high-volume shooter.

Check out our Rangers vs. Devils best bet!

Player prop parlay: Nico Hischier + Jack Eichel both Over 2.5 shots (+165 via DraftKings) ⭐⭐

Hischier was the most dangerous Devil in Game 1 against the Rangers. He totaled five shots on eight attempts while dominating five-on-five possession with a 72.7 Corsi For percentage.

It wasn’t as smooth for Eichel. Still, he recorded nine attempts despite the Winnipeg Jets smothering him to the tune of a 37.9 CF% at five-on-five in Game 1. The breakdown was also incredibly rare: two shots, one missed shot, and six blocked shots. That’s not happening again Thursday.

With New Jersey and Vegas needing a home-ice win to avoid hitting the highway down 0-2, I’m anticipating even more willingness to shoot from both of these minute-hogging centers.

This is only a two-star recommendation because it’s a parlay, and I’d grade each individual leg with three stars. However, there's a notable edge to playing it through DraftKings. The difference in the +165 number and +153 price is a positive expected value of 5%, or an increased profit of $1.15 on a $10 dollar bet.

The option to parlay shot props isn't widely available across our best sportsbooks, and this prop is also trading at +154 through bet365. Additionally, Barstool is listing Eichel’s shot total at 3.5, with +257 odds for him and Hischier to go Over.

Check out our best sports betting sites and best sports betting apps.

Player prop: Alex Killorn Under 0.5 points (+106 via FanDuel) ⭐⭐⭐

Killorn is coming off a career-high 64-point regular season, and he marked the scoresheet in Game 1 with a power-play assist. It’s pretty rare for a veteran eyeing his mid-30s to produce a breakout offensive showing, and I’m counting on statistical correction striking the Lightning winger.

He spent the bulk of his five-on-five ice time matched up against Toronto stars Auston Matthews and Mitchell Marner on Tuesday. Killorn projects to continue skating opposite one of the top two Toronto lines again Thursday.

Additionally, I'm pegging Tampa for fewer opportunities with the man advantage after the Lightning were given eight power plays and spent 10:17 up a man in Game 1. Toronto goaltender Ilya Samsonov isn’t going to allow a six-spot through the first 40 minutes, either. 

I value the plus-money odds on a secondary scorer missing the scoresheet, and I’m anticipating offense to be much harder to come by for Tampa Bay on Thursday. If Killorn skated on the No. 2 power-play unit, I’d grade this as a four-star bet.

No goals in first 10 minutes round robin (+845 via FanDuel) ⭐

This is definitely a bit of a niche recommendation, and the first-period goal in the first 10 minutes market isn’t widely available across our best NHL betting sites.

Admittedly, this is also a bit of a blind bet. I’m just expecting statistical correction after the Yes has hit in nine of the first 12 playoff games (75%).

For comparison, there was a goal in the first 10 minutes of the first period in 59.3% of regular-season contests, and the No is carrying a plus-money price for all four of Thursday’s games. 

As a result, this four-game round-robin needs only for there to be no goals in the first 10 minutes of two games for it to be profitable. Additionally, after the road underdog won each of the four Game 1s in these respective series, I expect four competitive and close Game 2 clashes.

I also like the entertainment value attached to this bet if you’re settling in to watch all four games.

NHL best bets made 4/20/2023 at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Here are our best NHL betting sites:

• FanDuel: Bet $5, Get $150 in Bonus Bets | Read our FanDuel Review
• Caesars: Earn Up to a $1,250 Bet Credit | Read our Caesars Review
• DraftKings: Bet $5, Get $150 in Bonus Bets | Read our DraftKings Review
• PointsBet: Earn Five Second-Chance Bets Up to $50 Each | Read our PointsBet Review
• BetMGM: Get a Bonus Bet of Up to $1,000 | Read our BetMGM Review

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