Saturday in the NHL means a loaded slate from the early afternoon to the late night games. It also means even more skaters on the ice. We have 22 teams in action, and we've analyzed each matchup for the best spots for player props. One of our favorite plays is featured in one of the afternoon games, so let's get straight into it.'
Along with our player props, be sure to check out all of our NHL picks for today's action.
Jake Guentzel over 0.5 assists (+105)
It's not one of the first puck-drops of the day, but the Pittsburgh Penguins are in St. Louis to face the Blues in a mid-afternoon matchup. This should be a great spot for the Pens to bounce back from their most recent game. It was a crushing 7-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers, but now they should be the ones finding the back of the net early and often. The Blues have been in complete freefall and have only gotten worse since trading away Vladimir Tarasenko and former-captain Ryan O'Rielly. One of the primary reasons they decided to be sellers prior to the trade deadline is because they aren't having the season they hoped for because of their poor goaltending.
Since the start of 2023, they've allowed the 4th-most goals per game and that's also their rank for the season as a whole. The Pens were already a part of that poor standing as they defeated the Blues 6-2 earlier this season. Jake Guentzel notched an assist in that matchup, and we expect he will again. The risk involved here is the fact that he enjoys taking his shots as well. However, he's been on the top line with Evgeni Malkin and Rickard Rakell, who are the top 2 shot-takers on the team. Given he's also linked up with Sidney Crosby to find the back to the net against this same Blues team, we'll take the plus-money on Guentzel tonight.'''