The NHL has a big 12-game slate set for Thursday. Read on for our top NHL prop picks and best bets for Thursday based on the top NHL odds from our best sports betting apps.
The NHL has a dozen games on the docket for the Thursday night before the holiday break.
Six games are starting at 7 p.m. ET including a Metropolitan Division matchup between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Arizona Coyotes and San Jose Sharks close out the 12-game slate with a matchup at 10:30 p.m. ET in San Jose.
Here are our top NHL prop picks and best bets for Thursday (odds via our best NHL betting sites; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
Thursday's NHL schedule and odds
(Odds via DraftKings)
- Toronto Maple Leafs (-142) vs. Buffalo Sabres (+120)
- St. Louis Blues (+180) vs. Florida Panthers (-218)
- Nashville Predators (-105) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (-115)
- Washington Capitals (-122) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (+102)
- Vegas Golden Knights (-108) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (-112)
- Carolina Hurricanes (-130) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (+110)
- Edmonton Oilers (-105) vs. New Jersey Devils (-115)
- Vancouver Canucks (+124) vs. Dallas Stars (-148)
- Montreal Canadiens (+170) vs. Minnesota Wild (-205)
- Ottawa Senators (+140) vs. Colorado Avalanche (-166)
- Calgary Flames (-170) vs. Anaheim Ducks (+142)
- Arizona Coyotes (-155) vs. San Jose Sharks (+130)
Thursday's NHL best bets
- Rasmus Dahlin Over 2.5 shots on goal (-108 via FanDuel) ?????
- William Nylander to record an assist (-140 via DraftKings) ????
- Flyers ML vs. Predators (-110 via FanDuel) ????
- Avalanche ML vs. Senators (-162 via BetRivers) ?? ???
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Thursday's NHL prop picks
The Buffalo Sabres aren't having a great time recently, but defenseman Rasmus Dahlin has been doing what he can. The top defenseman has 16 points in his last 16 games while firing 55 shots on net (3.43 per game).
Dahlin has gone Over 2.5 shots on goal in 10 straight games and 13 of his last 16. In fact, taking Dahlin to go Over 3.5 shots on goal would've cashed in seven of his last 10 games and 11 of those 16 contests.
The Sabres and Maple Leafs already met once this season with Buffalo winning 6-4, while piling up 41 shots on goal. Dahlin had three shots on goal in that one as well.
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We're sticking in Buffalo for our next player prop pick, but we're going to the other side with Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander. Nylander is leading the way for the Leafs with 41 points (15 goals, 26 assists) in 29 games.
Nylander has been an assist machine this season, especially as of late. He's on a nine-game point streak (six-game assist streak) and has an assist in eight of those nine contests. Going back to the start of the season, Nylander has recorded an assist in 22 of 29 games this year.
The Sabres are coming off a game in which they allowed nine goals to the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets. Meanwhile, the Leafs scored 19 goals in three games prior to their 5-2 loss against the Rangers.
Nylander is going to get paid and he should help you get paid tonight too.
Th ursday's NHL game picks
If you're giving me the Philadelphia Flyers in a pick'em at home against a comparable team, I'm likely going to take them. The Flyers are 18-10-3 this season (8-6-1 at home), while the Predators are 18-14-0 (7-7-0 on the road).
Nashville took down the Flyers 3-2 in overtime last week, but now the home ice flips to Philadelphia. The Flyers are riding a nine-game point streak (8-1-0) with that being their lone loss in that span.
Juuse Saros had been playing extremely well prior to allowing five goals on 24 shots to the Canucks.
On the other side, Flyers backup Samuel Ersson's numbers don't look great overall (8-3-2, 2.51 GAA, .899 SV%), but that save percentage is weighed down by a few horrific starts at the beginning of the year. He is 8-1-1 with 19 goals against and a .929 SV% in his last 10 games after starting the season 0-2-1 with 14 g oals allowed on 59 shots (.763 SV%).
Back the Flyers to get the job done at home.
The Ottawa Senators fired head coach DJ Smith earlier this week, but that didn't solve their issues as they blew a 3-1 lead to the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday night. That was their fifth straight loss and they will close out their road trip against one of the best home teams in hockey.
The Colorado Avalanche are coming off a bad loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. They're now just 7-7-2 on the road this season, but their mile-high arena gives them an altitude advantage and they're 12-4-0 at home. On the other side, Ottawa is 3-7 on the road and can't seem to do anything right.
The Avs have won their last three home games by a combined score of 17-8. They'll be chomping at the bit to get back in the win column.
This line has come down a bit since opening, possibly due t o Cale Makar's questionable status, but the Avalanche are the much better team and their home-ice advantage should come through tonight.
NHL best bets made Thursday at 11:30 a.m. ET
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- FanDuel Promo Code | Read our FanDuel Review
- DraftKings Promo Code | Read our DraftKings Review
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* Bonuses not applicable in Ontario.
Related pages
- Best Sports Betting Sites | Best Sportsbook Promos (U.S. only)