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NHL Player Props & Best Bets Today: Can Colorado Bounce Back at Home?

Ryan Gilbert

Last Updated: December 21, 2023 8:03 PM EST • 3 min 57 sec read.

NHL best bets
NHL best bets

The NHL has a big 12-game slate set for Thursday, as we make our top NHL prop picks and best bets for Thursday based on the top NHL odds from our best sports betting apps.

The NHL has a dozen games on the docket for Thursday night before the holiday break, and we're targeting a pair of player props and moneyline bets to round out our betting menu.

Six games are starting at 7 p.m. ET including a Metropolitan Division matchup between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Arizona Coyotes and San Jose Sharks close out the 12-game slate with a matchup at 10:30 p.m. ET in San Jose.

Here are our top NHL prop picks and best bets for Thursday (odds via our best NHL betting sites; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).

Thursday’s NHL schedule and odds

(Odds via DraftKings)

Thursday’s NHL best bets

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Thursday’s NHL prop picks

Rasmus Dahlin Over 2.5 shots on goal (-108 via FanDuel) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Buffalo Sabres aren’t having a great time recently, but defenseman Rasmus Dahlin has been doing what he can. The top defenseman has 16 points in his last 16 games while firing 55 shots on net (3.43 per game).

Dahlin has gone Over 2.5 shots on goal in 10 straight games and 13 of his last 16. In fact, taking Dahlin to go Over 3.5 shots on goal would’ve cashed in seven of his last 10 games and 11 of those 16 contests.

The Sabres and Maple Leafs already met once this season with Buffalo winning 6-4, while piling up 41 shots on goal. Dahlin had three shots on goal in that one as well.

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William Nylander to record an assist (-140 via DraftKings)  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

We’re sticking in Buffalo for our next player prop pick, but we’re going to the other side with Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander. Nylander is leading the way for the Leafs with 41 points (15 goals, 26 assists) in 29 games.

Nylander has been an assist machine this season, especially as of late. He’s on a nine-game point streak (six-game assist streak) and has an assist in eight of those nine contests. Going back to the start of the season, Nylander has recorded an assist in 22 of 29 games this year.

The Sabres are coming off a game in which they allowed nine goals to the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets. Meanwhile, the Leafs scored 19 goals in three games prior to their 5-2 loss against the Rangers.

Nylander is going to get paid and he should help you get paid tonight too.

Thursday’s NHL game picks

Flyers ML vs. Predators (-110 via FanDuel) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

If you’re giving me the Philadelphia Flyers in a pick’em at home against a comparable team, I’m likely going to take them. The Flyers are 18-10-3 this season (8-6-1 at home), while the Predators are 18-14-0 (7-7-0 on the road).

Nashville took down the Flyers 3-2 in overtime last week, but now the home ice flips to Philadelphia. The Flyers are riding a nine-game point streak (8-1-0) with that being their lone loss in that span.

Juuse Saros had been playing extremely well prior to allowing five goals on 24 shots to the Canucks. 

On the other side, Flyers backup Samuel Ersson’s numbers don’t look great overall (8-3-2, 2.51 GAA, .899 SV%), but that save percentage is weighed down by a few horrific starts at the beginning of the year. He is 8-1-1 with 19 goals against and a .929 SV% in his last 10 games after starting the season 0-2-1 with 14 goals allowed on 59 shots (.763 SV%).

Back the Flyers to get the job done at home.

Avalanche ML vs. Senators (-162 via BetRivers) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Ottawa Senators fired head coach DJ Smith earlier this week, but that didn’t solve their issues as they blew a 3-1 lead to the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday night. That was their fifth straight loss and they will close out their road trip against one of the best home teams in hockey.

The Colorado Avalanche are coming off a bad loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. They’re now just 7-7-2 on the road this season, but their mile-high arena gives them an altitude advantage and they’re 12-4-0 at home. On the other side, Ottawa is 3-7 on the road and can’t seem to do anything right.

The Avs have won their last three home games by a combined score of 17-8. They’ll be chomping at the bit to get back in the win column. 

This line has come down a bit since opening, possibly due to Cale Makar’s questionable status, but the Avalanche are the much better team and their home-ice advantage should come through tonight. 

NHL best bets made Thursday at 11:30 a.m. ET

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Written By:
Ryan Gilbert
Ryan Gilbert is a contributing writer at SportsbookReview.com, covering hockey and baseball. He is the lead NHL writer and editor at the Sports Gambling Podcast Network, where he also co-hosts the Hockey Gambling Podcast. Ryan covers the Philadelphia Flyers for Broad Street Hockey and co-founded Sons of Penn. His past stops include NBC Sports Regional Networks and NHL.com.