It’s a nine-game slate tonight and with goals drying up, the volume of stacks needs to be reeled back. That doesn’t mean there aren’t a lot of good spots for prop bets tonight with 18 teams in action.
The Montreal Canadiens are motivated and get a tired Nashville Predators tonight, the Winnipeg Jets are about to bust out of their funk, and the Detroit Red Wings might be the most undervalued team on the board.
These are my three favorite NHL player props for Thursday, December 5.
NHL prop picks and best bets for December 5
Hutson o0.5 assists (+145 at bet365)
Perfetti o0.5 points (+116 at FanDuel)
Rasmussen o0.5 points (-103 at BetRivers)
Picks made on 12-5 at 1:00 p.m. ET.
Today’s NHL prop picks and best bets
Prop bet #1: Lane Hutson Over 0.5 assists
There is some buzz in the Bell Centre as the Montreal Canadiens got a healthy Patrick Laine, who promptly scored in his debut. Meanwhile, Lane Hutson has taken over as the PP1 quarterback. This is now a legit PP group with the rookie on the back end and Laine alongside Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield.
Hutson is paying big bucks for a PP point tonight, which is a good look at +450 or better, but his assist is the best bet at +145 as he has yet to record a goal and has 16 helpers over 25 games. He ranks third on the team in assists/60.
The Nashville Predators are a tough task but there is reason to dislike the road team tonight. They will be playing their second game in as many nights, have failed to score three goals in 12 of their last 15 games, and will likely be starting a goalie they just traded for in Justus Annunen. He has not been with the team much, which could hurt communication, and he comes over with a 4.14 GAA and a .836 SV% over his last six games.
I love the Habs ML tonight at +115 but with a new role and more minutes, a Hutson assist at +145 is the best prop bet for this game.
Prop bet #2: Cole Perfetti Over 0.5 points
The Winnipeg Jets are in a freefall having lost four straight games, but tonight’s opponent, the Buffalo Sabres, are also losers of four in a row and not playing great hockey. The Sabres are a perfect slump-buster for the much better Winnipeg team that's juggling up the lines.
With Nikolaj Ehlers out, Winnipeg has given a bigger role to Cole Perfetti who is skating on the second line and the first power-play unit. His minutes are up and he will have some great offensive opportunities tonight vs. a Buffalo team that has allowed 12 goals over its last three games.
This Winnipeg lineup is too talented to stay cold for much longer and tonight is a great buy-low spot as the Jets are just -135 on the ML.
The Sabres could also be without No.1 D-man Rasmus Dahlin, which won’t help their power play that is 0-for-16 across its last six games. The Jets break out of their funk tonight.
Prop bet #3: Michael Rasmussen Over 0.5 points
The stack of Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond might be the shortest of all the stacks today at +100. It’s warranted as the pair has been seemingly finding the scoresheet on more than half of the team's goals of late but winger Michael Rasmussen has found himself on the wing while also playing on the top power play.
Like many forwards who jump into new roles, books are slow at pricing the new opportunities but with this being Rasmussen’s second game on the top line, some books have opened markets, and his Over 0.5 points at -103 is buy here to -125.
It’s also a good matchup for the Detroit offense as the Ottawa Senators are just returning from their West Coast trip and are still one of the worst teams in hockey but continue to be overvalued by the books. These are two teams with similar rosters and with Ville Husso in net for Detroit, this game could be wide open.
In Detroit's OT loss last game, he pointed for the third time in four games and played over four minutes above his season average in ice time.
NHL odds today
Here are the full NHL odds for all of today’s matchups.
Not intended for use in MA.
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