Best player props for Monday's NHL slate: Expecting plenty of helpers

Calgary Flames Johnny Gaudreau Matthew Tkachuk
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Mark Lammey

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I've been a capper since my love for sports met my proficiency with numbers and math. The NFL and NCAAF have always been my first loves, followed by the NHL. Although I prefer sports that involve hitting people, I still love capping MLB, soccer, tennis, and even some esports. Living in Florida has its perks like year-round sports of any kind. For Mark Lammey media enquiries, please email contact@pickswise.com.
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Monday offers just a small 4-game NHL slate. With so few games it can be difficult to find a lot of strong plays on sides or totals, but the player prop markets always provide value. We can look at the Blues returning home after a Canadian road trip, or even the Flames traveling out west to battle a Kings team for division supremacy. Along with our player props, be sure to check out our full game previews for tonight’s matchups.

Robert Thomas (Blues) over 0.5 assists (+105)

The Blues are finally back in St. Louis after their road trip through Canada, and are welcomed by the league’s worst team in the Arizona Coyotes. They’ve recently lost their up-and-coming alpha in Clayton Keller due to a fractured leg, and the Blues will be ready to feast. Better yet, The Yotes enter St. Louis on a back-to-back after facing the Blackhawks last night. St. Louis has put up 4 or more goals in each of the last 4 games. Now the Blues face a Coyotes defense that has been a bottom-5 goaltending team all season, and will have a backup in net.

The entire Blues roster has the potential to capitalize on props across the board, but Robert Thomas’ assist prop is a great play to make. St. Louis has been on an offensive tear, catapulting them into the top 5 in goalscoring, and averaging 3.65 goals per game at home. Goals will surely come against the Coyotes, and Thomas should be a part of them. He has 57 points in 58 games this season, inching ever closer to the coveted point per game. Of those 57 points, 42 have come by way of assists. Thomas also greatly alleviates the concern that he may score a goal instead and miss the prop, as he has just 87 shots on goal in those 58 games. That’s good for exactly 1.5 shots per game. He prefers to feed the puck to their shot-takers Vladimir Tarasenko and Pavel Buchnevich. Let them do the scoring while we take advantage of the assist market with Thomas.

Be sure to check out our full game preview for Arizona Coyotes at St. Louis Blues.

Johnny Gaudreau (Flames) over 0.5 assists (-130)

Johnny ‘Hockey’ Gaudreau is having a phenomenal season, leading the Calgary Flames to 1st place in the Pacific Division. If he wants to assist in holding that spot, he’ll need to assist his teammates in defeating the Kings in Los Angeles tonight. LA has slowly but steadily crept to within 3 points of Calgary for the division lead. The Flames are on a rare 3-game skid, with 1 of those losses coming to the Kings. Gaudreau and company should come out on a revenge tour to rebound from that game.

Johnny Hockey is 4th in the league in points with 92, just 13 behind leader Connor McDavid. He’s been as reliable as they come, recording a point in 15 of his last 18 games. Regardless of the sample of games analyzed, it will always show his consistency. He skates alongside Matthew Tkachuk, who has 84 points himself, and such a duo lends Gaudreau even more opportunities. Out of Johnny’s 92 points, 60 of them have been assists. He did have goals in his last 2 games, but he recorded a ridiculous 5-assist game against the Oilers prior to those. Gaudreau has been able to perform against any team this season; but we get even more reassurance as the last time the Flames played in Los Angeles, Johnny Hockey put up an assist.

Be sure to check out our full game preview for Calgary Flames at Los Angeles Kings.

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