This time of the NHL season, it's always fun to keep track of milestones for individual skaters. Whether that means breaking the 40-goal barrier, 100-point mark or something else entirely, those coveted numbers are always important. Of course, that goes along with making the postseason. Our 2 favorite NHL player prop plays take both of those factors into account. We have 2 skaters striving for an Eastern Conference Wild Card spot, and they're in the first 2 games of the night, so let's dive in.
Along with our player props, be sure to check out all of our NHL picks for today's action.
Alex Tuch over 0.5 assists (+120)
First up is a skater in the matchup between the Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres. With how poorly both teams have been in terms of goaltending, it wouldn't be a shock to target a skater from either side. However, Buffalo has far more offensive firepower. That's primarily thanks to Tage Thompson, who is striving for a 50-goal season. However, we're going to play it just a bit safer and target his linemate. We're expecting Tuch to help him inch closer to that 50-goal mark. He'll likely link up with Thompson tonight, but there are other shooters like Jeff Skinner that give us other options. The Canadiens have allowed the 5th-most goals per game this season, and the Sabres put up 7 goals on them the last time they faced off. Similarly, Tuch has had at least 1 assist in 3 of his last 4 games against Montreal. Better yet, he's had a total of 6 assists across those 4 games. With the Canadiens also having the 4th-worst penalty k ill unit, we expect plenty of goals to be scored in this matchup. Therefore, we anticipate Tuch to be involved in at least one of them.
Be sure to check out our Montreal Canadiens vs Buffalo Sabres prediction