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NHL Player Props & Best Bets Today: Can Bolts Strike Down Devils?

Ryan Gilbert

Last Updated: January 11, 2024 6:50 PM EST • 3 min 31 sec read.

NHL best bets
NHL best bets

Prop bettors are in for a treat with 13 NHL games on the docket for Thursday, and we have you covered with our top NHL prop picks and best bets for Thursday based on the top NHL odds from our best sports betting apps.

Nearly the entire league is in action on Thursday, with 13 NHL games featuring 26 teams and no shortage of star power on the ice - which is especially good news for prop bettors.

The Los Angeles Kings face off against the Florida Panthers in Florida as one of several 7 p.m. ET games to kick off the night. John Tavares and the Toronto Maple Leafs are also on Long Island to take on the New York Islanders. 

A potential Stanley Cup Final preview between the Boston Bruins and Vegas Golden Knights in Vegas closes the slate at 10 p.m. ET.

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 (-156 via FanDuel)  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I wasn’t planning on going back to Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin’s shots on goal prop when the line initially opened at -175, but FanDuel is offering a very favorable line at -156.

Dahlin has gone Over 2.5 shots on goal in six of his last seven games and 16 of his last 18 overall. He has 72 shots in those 18 games, an average of four per contest. That makes sense, given that he's also gone Over 3.5 shots on goal in 12 of those contests.

Dahlin and the Sabres get a bit of an easier matchup tonight against the Senators. Ottawa is just 4-12-0 on the road and is in the bottom 10 with 31.6 shots allowed per game.

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Alexis Lafreniere Over 2.5 Shots on Goal (+100 via FanDuel) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Former first overall pick Alexis Lafreniere is having a bit of a breakout season for the Rangers.

He has 25 points (10 goals, 15 assists) with 97 shots on goal through 39 games. That's not a very good shots per game average, but he's been shooting a lot more recently. 

Lafreniere has gone Over 2.5 shots in four straight games, seven of his last nine, and 14 of his last 21 contests dating back to November 25th.

The Blues allow 31.7 shots per game, and the Rangers have been controlling play with 90 shots in their last two games.

Take the even money on Lafreniere to do what he’s been doing for over a month now.

Thursday’s NHL game picks

Kraken ML vs. Capitals (-120 via BetMGM) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Kraken are one of the hottest teams in the NHL as they take their seven-game winning streak into Washington against the Capitals. Seattle has been playing great hockey over its past 10 games, going 8-0-2 with the 12th-best xGF% in the league.

The Capitals are coming off a win against the Kings in which they got outshot 41-34 in their 4-3 victory. That win was just their second in the last eight games as the Caps have been sliding down the standings. In fact, Washington has the worst xGF% in the league over the past 10 games at a lowly 40.17%.

Seattle is surging with Joey Daccord (11-5-8, 2.28 GAA, .923 SV%) in net, and Washington is waning. Back the Kraken tonight.

Lightning ML vs. Devils (-148 via DraftKings) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Devils are dealing with a few key injuries, most notably with Jack Hughes now out week-to-week with an upper-body injury. 

Hughes joins Timo Meier, Ondrej Palat, Jonas Siegenthaler, and Dougie Hamilton as the Devils are currently injured. They felt the effects of that on Saturday night with a 6-4 loss to the Canucks at home.

Meanwhile, Tampa Bay is coming off a comeback win against the Kings and is a great home team. The Bolts are 12-5-3 at home as opposed to 8-12-2 on the road.

Andrei Vasilevskiy (10-9-0, 2.95 GAA, .896 SV%) may not be playing like himself, but he's still much better than Vitek Vanecek (14-7-1, 3.29 GAA, .884 SV%).

NHL best bets made Thursday at 12:45 p.m. ET.

Here are our best NHL betting sites:

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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.