NHL Player Props & Best Bets Today: Back Bedard to score in Montreal

Check out today's NHL prop picks and best bets for Saturday's full schedule.

Ryan Gilbert

Last updated: October 14, 2023 2:30 PM EDT • 5 min read

The opening weekend of NHL action features a loaded 14-game Saturday slate, and our top NHL prop picks and best bets are based on the top NHL odds from our best sports betting apps.

The first Saturday slate of the NHL season is a doozy with 14 games spread out between 1 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. ET.

Saturday's 14-game slate features a rematch between the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers, an Atlantic Division battle between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Detroit Red Wings. Add a handful of exciting matchups north of the border, and it’s set to be an exciting night on the ice.

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

Saturday’s NHL schedule and odds

(Odds via DraftKings)

Saturday’s NHL best bets

Connor Bedard to score (+165 via Caesars) ⭐⭐⭐
Jets ML vs. Panthers (-120 via DraftKings) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Lightning ML vs. Red Wings (-125 via DraftKings) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Kraken vs. Blues Under 6.5 (-110 via DraftKings) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Saturday’s NHL prop picks

Connor Bedard to score (+165 via Caesars) ⭐⭐⭐

Connor Bedard has been all over the ice through his first two NHL games.

The rookie sensation generated 11 shot attempts (five on goal) in his debut against the Pittsburgh Penguins and seven more (six on goal) the next night against the Boston Bruins. He had three high-danger scoring chances in each game and picked up his first NHL goal Wednesday night.

Bedard now gets to play against a Montreal Canadiens club that isn’t exactly known for its defense. Get on board the rookie hype train, as our Neil Parker takes a deeper diver on the rookie hot shot with his Connor Bedard NHL player props for Saturday.

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Saturday’s NHL game picks

Jets ML vs. Panthers (-120 via DraftKings) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Winnipeg Jets and Florida Panthers each opened their season with disappointing defeats earlier this week.

Winnipeg lost 5-3 to the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night despite outshooting the Flames 37-22 in the game. Meanwhile, Florida was held off the scoresheet in a 2-0 loss to the Minnesota Wild while outshooting the Wild 41-21.

The Jets now return to Winnipeg for their season opener against a Panthers team that has struggled on the road for a few years now. The Cats were 19-19-3 on the road last season while the Jets were 26-13-2 at home. Take the home favorites in their home opener.

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Lightning ML vs. Red Wings (-125 via DraftKings) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Tampa Bay Lightning didn't miss a beat in their season opener with a 5-3 win over the Nashville Predators. Meanwhile, the Detroit Red Wings battled hard in New Jersey but ultimately fell to the Devils on Thursday night.

Tampa Bay is simply still the better team than Detroit. Even without goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, there is no way the Lightning should be this long of favorites against the Red Wings.

On top of that, the Lightning had two extra days of rest after opening the season on Tuesday while the Red Wings were in Newark on Thursday night.

Kraken vs. Blues Under 6.5 (-110 via DraftKings) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Seattle Kraken have scored only one goal through their first two games of the season. They lost 4-1 to the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night before getting blanked by the Predators on Thursday. Their road trip continues in St. Louis after the Blues opened their season with a 2-1 shootout loss against the Dallas Stars.

To sum all of that up, there have been a total of 11 goals through three games combined for these two teams. Seattle has yet to find its game offensively while also holding fairly strong defensively. St. Louis played tough in Dallas despite getting outshot 34-24.

I’m expecting more of the same on Saturday in St. Louis with the total set at 6.5.

NHL best bets made 10/13/2023 at 11:20 p.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.