NHL picks: 4 best player props for Thursday
31 Mar
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.

Auston Matthews anytime goal scorer vs Winnipeg Jets 1.75

Currently sitting on 49 goals, tied with Leon Draisaitl for the league lead, Matthews is on the cusp of the first 50-goal season of his career. Playing on home ice, the motivation is high for him to become the first Maple Leafs 50-goal scorer since Dave Andreychuk had 53 in 1993-94.

He’ll have to do it against a team that he has not traditionally torched, as he has nine goals in 18 career games against the Winnipeg Jets. However, Winnipeg will be on the second half of a back-to-back and there’s a good chance they’ll be starting backup Laurent Brossoit after starter Connor Hellebucyk played against Buffalo last night.

Matthews has 12 goals in his last 10 games and has failed to light the lamp in just one of those 10 games. He’s been the hottest goal scorer in the league and looks like he won’t slow down as he goes for his second straight Rocket Richard Trophy.

Johnny Gaudreau to score 2+ points vs Los Angeles Kings 2.37

Johnny Hockey has played his way into the MVP conversation with the amount of points he’s putting up this season. The Flames are surging with him playing the best hockey of his career. Gaudreau has registered multi-point games in 23 of 66 contests this season. He is averaging nearly 1.5 points per game on home ice this season, too.

I think the highly-skilled winger is going to take advantage of a Los Angeles team that is on the second half of a back-to-back and likely playing their No. 2 goaltender. This is a chance for the Flames to make a statement against a team it could end up meeting in the playoffs. Gaudreau has averaged better than a point per game against the Kings over his career.

He was held off the scoresheet last game, but he’s only a few days removed from a career-best five-assist effort.

Patrik Laine anytime goalscorer vs NY Islanders 2.65

This has been a resurgent season for the former No. 2 overall pick. Laine has been playing with confidence, scoring goals and making highlight-reel plays now as a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets. He has 51 points including 25 goals in 48 games this season.

He hasn’t scored a goal in four games, however. There has only been one longer stretch this season where he failed to find the back of the net. Playing the New York Islanders, Laine has not typically had success against them in his career, but this is a much more evenly-matched game than against Islanders teams of years past.

Laine has been shooting a bunch of late, too, as he poured 13 shots on net over his last three games combined. With a 17.6 per cent shooting percentage, you have to think a few of those shots are going to start dropping for him.

Sebastian Aho to score 2+ points vs Montreal Canadiens 2.62

Aho has tortured the Montreal Canadiens this season. He has five points over the two games against them so far and has been red-hot offensively for Carolina of late. The Habs once signed Aho to an offer sheet that sparked a mini rivalry between these two franchises and even though Aho ultimately stayed with the Canes, he has not been kind to the team that tried to pry him away.

Aho has points in each of his last five games and has 17 multi-point efforts so far this season. With his success against Montreal so far this season, I like his chances of hitting the scoresheet multiple times.