3 NHL Player Prop Bets to Target on Thursday 12/28/23

Player props can be useful in a variety of ways -- from taking advantage of them straight up to measuring a player's potential to produce in daily fantasy baseball on FanDuel. Here, we're going to focus on the former.

Utilizing numberFire's projections as a guide, here are some NHL player props bets that look appealing via the NHL odds at FanDuel Sportsbook.

Please note that betting lines and numberFire's projections may change throughout the day after this article is published. Also, the weather may be an issue in some locations.

J.T. Miller

To Score a Goal (+195)

The Vancouver Canucks have a 3.57 implied team total versus the Philadelphia Flyers, a matchup where we should see plenty of offense.

Over the last two weeks, the Canucks are scoring a whopping 4.22 Goals per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, which is the best in the league by a decent margin. This shouldn't come as a surprise, as they have the most (135) goals in the NHL this season, so getting exposure to their offense is always a good idea.

For the Flyers' defense, they are allowing 2.54 Goals per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, which is 18th over the last two weeks. However, if we look at their Expected Goals Allowed (xGA), they are at 2.75, which is 11th-worst.

While that's not a massive differential, they are due for a bit of negative regression, and this powerful offense from Vancouver could certainly get it started.

We'll turn to J.T. Miller, who has 15 goals, 33 assists, and 78 shots on goal through 35 games. Miller has been held without a goal in his last seven games despite seeing time on the second forward line and the first power-play unit of this scorching-hot offense.

This type of matchup should allow Miller to generate offensive chances and have a shot at a goal tonight.

Drew Doughty

Over 1.5 Shots on Goal (-135)

With a low shot prop, Drew Doughty is worth targeting tonight.

The Los Angeles Kings are on the road to take on the struggling Vegas Golden Knights, which presents some opportunities for the Kings. The Golden Knights are on a four-game losing streak. There's no doubt they are still a strong team overall, but they're struggling right now, and it brings value to their opponent's props.

Over the last two weeks, Vegas has been allowing 65.89 Total Shot Attempts per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, which is the fifth-worst in the league. It's a clear departure from the defensive structure that helped them win the Stanley Cup last season.

Over the same two weeks, the Kings are producing a staggering 77.99 Total Shot Attempts per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, which tops the league. We have a matchup of two teams at the opposite ends of the shot spectrum tonight.

This leads me to the veteran, Drew Doughty, to record two simple shots on goal. He's averaging 1.8 shots on goal per game this season while seeing time on the team's top defensive pairing and the first power-play unit.

He's been over this mark in seven of his last 10 games, and the struggling Vegas defense should allow him to hit it once again.

Martin Necas

Over 2.5 Shots on Goal (-114)

A big 3.90 implied goal total should see the Carolina Hurricanes pushing their offense forward tonight.

When a team has a high implied goal total, it means they should be controlling the pace of the game and applying a ton of offensive pressure. We can capture that via shot props, which points us to Martin Necas tonight.

The Canes come in attempting 72.72 Total Shot Attempts per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations over the last two weeks, which is the third-highest in the league.

We see that with Necas, who has 89 shots on goal this season, the second-most on the Hurricanes. More importantly, that mark is the highest among players on the second forward line, with the other players being at 76 and 54 shots on goal.

Necas is the primary shot taker on both the second forward line and the second power-play unit.

He should be able to put that on display tonight against the Montreal Canadiens, who are allowing 60.41 Total Shot Attempts per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, which is 11th-worst in the league over the last two weeks.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.