NHL picks: 4 best player props for Thursday
24 Feb
NHL
Guy Giles1
Chris Peters picks out his four best player prop bets for Thursday night's slate in the NHL.

All the latest NHL lines can be found on the Betway sportsbook. Before finalising your online sports betting selections, make sure to check out our expert’s NHL picks and NHL predictions.

Aleksander Barkov to score 2+ points vs Columbus Blue Jackets 2.37

The Florida Panthers will take on the Blue Jackets who will be without top defenseman Zach Werenski. Meanwhile, Florida captain Aleksander Barkov is coming off of a tough performance against Nashville on Tuesday hwere he was held without a point.

In the game following each of the last four that Barkov was held without a point, he had at least two points. It’s been such a rare occurrence that Barkov was held off the score sheet entirely as it is. But he seems to always have a big time response.

While Jonathan Huberdeau has been the more consistent scorer among top Panthers players, Barkov’s bounce backs from tough games have become a very favorable place to find some value on player props.

With Florida at home and Barkov playing as well as he has been, look for him to make a big impact on the game.

Chris Kreider anytime goal scorer vs Washington Capitals 2.20

Among the league’s top goal scorers, Kreider is currently in the midst of his second longest goal drought of the season. It’s only been three games, but Kreider’s goal scoring has been consistent and reliable. Kreider has just eight career goals against Washington, but one of them came against the Caps earlier this season.

This game should be physical and I’d expect some penalties in the game as well. Kreider is the NHL’s top power-play goal scorer with 17 of his 33 goals coming on the advantage. Kreider has already surpassed his career high in goals, but is showing no signs of slowing down.

Matthew Tkachuk to score 2+ points vs Vancouver Canucks 2.87

With 30 points in his last 20 games, few players in the league have been as on-fire as Tkachuk has been. On top of that, he and the Flames are playing the Vancouver Canucks tonight. There is no team in the league that Tkachuk has scored more points against in his career.

In 28 career games against the Vancouver Canucks, Tkachuk has 25 points including 12 goals. The Canucks are the only team that Tkachuk is in double digits for career goals against. When you look at those career numbers against how he has played over the last two months, Tkachuk looks like a good bet to have a big game.

Morgan Rielly over 2.5 shots on goal vs Minnesota Wild 1.80

The Maple Leafs need to get themselves back on track. It won’t be easy against the Minnesota Wild, but my expectation is that Toronto will lean quite heavily on Rielly. With Jake Muzzin out, that has usually meant more minutes for Toronto’s top defenseman.

Rielly played over 26 minutes in the OT loss to Columbus on Tuesday and should play a lot in a key game against a tough opponent like the Wild. Over his last 10 games, Rielly has had two or fewer shots in only three contests. With him playing big minutes and the Leafs needing a lot from him in this particular game, I’d expect him to cruise past the over in this one.