NHL Player Props Tonight: Anytime Goal Scorer Predictions & Best Bets for Tuesday

Hockey is back, and I'm offering my four best NHL player props today for the opening night slate.

Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Sam Bennett, and Sam Reinhart feature in my NHL picks. I target the latter two skaters to find the back of the net after hanging their second straight Stanley Cup championship banner at home.

🏒 Best NHL player props tonight

NHL player prop odds subject to change.

• Nathan MacKinnon Over 3.5 shots (+100 via DraftKings) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Cale Makar Over 0.5 assists (+100 via DraftKings) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Sam Reinhart anytime goal (+140 via DraftKings) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Sam Bennett anytime goal (+160 via FanDuel) ⭐⭐⭐

💰 NHL player prop bets for Tuesday, Oct. 7

Our NHL player prop odds tool shows the best odds for every market across legal sportsbooks in your area.

⬆️ Nathan MacKinnon, C, Avalanche: Over 3.5 shots (+100) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

MacKinnon finished the last two seasons with the most shots on goal, and I expect his shoot-on-sight mentality to extend into the 2025-26 campaign. MacKinnon averaged four shots per game on the road last season, totaling 156 in 39 games.

The Colorado Avalanche superstar had at least three shots on goal against the Los Angeles Kings in three of the last five meetings. He was also more productive against Pacific Division teams last season, averaging 4.38 shots per game across a 21-game sample size.  

DraftKings' even-money odds will facilitate a $10 profit on a winning $10 wager. 

⬆️ Cale Makar, D, Avalanche: Over 0.5 assists (+100) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Makar finished last season with 62 assists in 80 games, an average of 0.78 per game. While that's a solid return from the defending Norris Trophy odds winner, his recent haul against the Kings is more impressive. Makar has 10 assists in the last seven meetings against Los Angeles and at least one helper in nine of the previous 10. 

And like MacKinnon, he feasts on Pacific Division opponents, notching 25 assists in 22 games last season. 

Liam Fox has three more plays for this matchup in his Avalanche vs. Kings player props.

🥅 Anytime goal scorer predictions

🔥 Sam Reinhart, RW, Panthers (+140) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Reinhart scored in last season's opener against the Boston Bruins and finished the campaign with 39 goals. I'm drawn to his recent success against the Chicago Blackhawks, as he lit the lamp four times in the previous three games against them.

Last season, Reinhart scored 1.44 goals per 60 minutes, slightly better than his 1.36 expected goals per 60. DraftKings' +140 odds carry a 41.67% implied probability, and a winning $10 bet will profit $14. 

Reinhart totalling two (or more) points also features in my Blackhawks vs. Panthers player prop bets.

🔥 Sam Bennett, C, Panthers (+160) ⭐⭐⭐

With Aleksander Barkov out for the season, Bennett will get his chance centering the first line between Carter Verhaeghe and Brad Marchand. He's no stranger to scoring goals, as the Conn Smythe winner netted 15 in 23 games en route to the Stanley Cup. 

That's a 0.65 goal-per-game rate, dwarfing his 0.33 goals-per-game rate in the regular season. With the championship banner being unfurled in Florida, I hope Bennett will perform like it's the playoffs. A winning $10 bet at FanDuel will profit $16. 

💡 Expert NHL predictions tonight

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