Mark Lammey
Saturday in the NHL means a loaded slate from the early afternoon to the late night games. It also means even more skaters on the ice. We have 22 teams in action, and we’ve analyzed each matchup for the best spots for player props. One of our favorite plays is featured in one of the afternoon games, so let’s get straight into it.
Along with our player props, be sure to check out all of our NHL picks for today’s action.
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Jake Guentzel, PIT, Over 0.5 assists (+105)
It’s not one of the first puck drops of the day, but the Pittsburgh Penguins are in St. Louis to face the Blues in a mid-afternoon matchup. This should be a great spot for the Pens to bounce back from their most recent game. It was a crushing 7-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers, but now they should be the ones finding the back of the net early and often. The Blues have been in complete free-fall and have only gotten worse since trading away Vladimir Tarasenko and former captain Ryan O’Rielly. One of the primary reasons they decided to be sellers prior to the trade deadline is because they aren’t having the season they hoped for because of their poor goaltending.
Since the start of 2023, the Blues have allowed the 4th-most goals per game and that’s also their rank for the season as a whole. The Pens were already a part of that poor standing as they defeated the Blues 6-2 earlier this season. Jake Guentzel notched an assist in that matchup and I expect he will again. The risk involved here is the fact that he enjoys taking his shots, as well. However, he has been on the top line with Evgeni Malkin and Rickard Rakell, who are the top 2 shot-takers on the team. Given that he’s also linked up with Sidney Crosby to find the back to the net against this same Blues team, I’ll take the plus money on Guentzel.
Be sure to check out our Pittsburgh Penguins vs St. Louis Blues prediction
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Brady Tkachuk, OTT, Over 0.5 goals (+125)
Seeing the Montreal Canadiens on the schedule always provides instant excitement when it comes to player props. I try to not always take the low-hanging fruit, but we have a team that loves facing them with the Ottawa Senators. They recently faced the Canadiens in back-to-back games to close out January and put up 5 goals in each one. Ottawa has won all 3 meetings with Montreal this season and now gets to face the Habs on the 2nd night of a back-to-back.
The Sens were also in action last night. However, this will be a welcomed change after taking on the elite defense of the Carolina Hurricanes. One of the primary reasons for Ottawa’s success against its divisional rivals is the play of Brady Tkachuk. His brother, Matthew, of the Florida Panthers has gotten much of the attention this season — but Brady is just 1 spot behind him in terms of expected goals. He has also delivered a goal in 2 of his last 3 games against the Canadiens. Furthermore, he has scored in each of the last 2 matchups in Montreal — where tonight’s game is being played. Following a rough night in Carolina, look for Tkachuk to lead the charge in a much more successful Saturday.
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