RADIO
Thursday brings a 10-game schedule in the National Hockey League tonight. Play props and win with Monkey Knife Fight.
The Star Shootouts offer great matchups, like David Pastrnak going head-to-head with Leon Draisaitl for points, Connor McDavid for assists in Chicago against the Blackhawks and Alex Ovechkin for at least 4.5 fantasy points against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. There are a couple of late games, including the Toronto Maple Leafs in Los Angeles to face the Kings.
Here are some angles to keep in mind before making your Thursday night prop picks.
STAR SHOOTOUT - MAIN GAMES
MORE OR LESS
Jaroslav Halak LESS THAN 29.5 SAVES – The Bruins are allowing 29.8 shots per 60 on the road this season and the Panthers are generating 33.6 shots/60 on home ice. That doesn’t clear this up very much. However, while Halak is solid on the road, he doesn’t face that many shots, averaging 27.2 saves per 60 minutes away from home this season.
Alexandar Georgiev LESS THAN 29.5 SAVES – On home ice, the Blueshirts are allowing 32.9 shots/60 and the Capitals are generating 31.6 shots/60 on the road this season. That might nudge this towards an over, yet Georgiev is averaging 26.8 saves per game at home this season, despite struggling to an .895 save percentage at Madison Square Garden.
Connor McDavid MORE THAN 0.5 ASSISTS – Not only does McDavid have 31 assists in 33 road games but he faces a Blackhawks team that has allowed a league-worst 34.5 shots against per 60 minutes on home ice and now that Robin Lehner isn’t there to bail them out those defensive struggles can home to roost.
Alex Ovechkin MORE THAN 4.5 FANTASY POINTS – The Rangers aren’t exactly a shutdown defensive squad and Ovechkin is generating 4.6 shots per game on the road. Oh, he’s also buried 26 goals in 32 goad games this season so he’s been a road warrior, too.
RAPID FIRE
Roman Josi -0.5 shots + blocks vs. Tyler Seguin – Josi has been a rock star this season and is averaging 5.2 shots plus blocks per home game. Seguin, on the other hand, has been relatively disappointing and is averaging 3.9 shots plus blocks per home contest so this is a clear advantage for Josi.
David Pastrnak +0.5 points vs. Leon Draisaitl – Pasta delivers at home and on the road, averaging 1.33 points per road game and he gets the benefit of facing a Panthers team that has the third-highest goals against average on home ice (3.38). Draisaitl is on a ridiculous roll as he pulls away atop the scoring race and has 1.53 points per game on the road. That’s not enough to like him giving up an extra half point against Pastrnak.
STAR SHOOTOUT - NIGHT GAMES
MORE OR LESS
Brent Burns MORE THAN 4.5 SHOTS + BLOCKS – The Sharks’ blueliner is averaging 4.9 shots plus blocks per home game this season and faces a Wild team that is allowing 32.4 shots against per 60 minutes which is higher than the league average.
Mitch Marner MORE THAN 0.5 ASSISTS – This might be a surprisingly close call because Marner has 15 assists in 25 games (0.60) and goes against a Kings team that has a better-than-average defensive record on home ice.
Frederik Andersen MORE THAN 28.5 SAVES – An average road game for Andersen this season, has been a little better than on home ice, resulting in a .912 save percentage and 28.9 saves per 60 minutes away from home. Somewhat surprisingly, the Kings do generate shots on goal, 32.6 per 60 at home, which ranks 11th, so that’s enough shots for Andersen to find his way to 29 or more saves.
Anze Kopitar MORE THAN 0.5 ASSISTS – Los Angeles’ star center has 21 assists in 30 road games and matches up against a Maple Leafs team that has some defensive question marks and has allowed 3.43 goals against per 60 minutes on the road, the fifth-highest rate in the league.
Auston Matthews LESS THAN 4.5 SHOTS + BLOCKS – The Kings aren’t bad defensively and Matthews is putting up 4.41 shots plus blocks per road game. A close call but this nudges towards the under.
John Tavares LESS THAN 0.5 GOALS – The Maple Leafs center has scored 16 goals in 31 road contests, hitting the score sheet in 13 of those 31 games. Another close call that can tilt towards the under.
RAPID FIRE
Jared Spurgeon +0.5 shots + blocks vs. Drew Doughty – On the road this season, Spurgeon is putting up nearly 3.5 shots plus blocks per game while Doughty is averaging 3.75 shots plus blocks per home game. In that case, might as well take the underdog getting an extra half.
