Today’s NHL Prop Picks and Best Bets - Saturday, April 6

Prop bet #1: Lightning strikes

Nikita Kucherov has put together an MVP-worthy campaign, with 43 goals and 90 assists. 
 
His 133 points are five clear of his career-best 128 in 2019, with six Games to go.
 
Kucherov has also been piling up points with the man advantage, leading the NHL with 36 power play assists and 49 total points with the man advantage.
 
He’s the driving force behind Tampa’s special teams, which is tops in the league, converting at a crisp 29.1% clip, with only two other teams even at the 27% plateau.
 
Kucherov connected on a powerplay goal — his 13th with the man advantage this season — as well as an assist, as Tampa went 2-for-5 in its 7-4 win over the Canadiens.
 
The Lightning winger has also had power play success against Pittsburgh in both Games this season, picking up a PP goal in the Lightning’s 3-1 win and adding a PP assist in a 4-2 loss.
 
Pittsburgh is a Top-10 penalty kill unit, but it has surrendered goals with the man advantage in back-to-back Games.
 
The Pens don’t take many penalties (27th overall) but Kucherov doesn’t need many opportunities to cash in.

Nikita Kucherov prop: Over 0.5 power play points (+105 at Bet99)

Prop bet #2: McDavid's slick

Connor McDavid has been scorching down the home stretch, part of the reason the Oilers shook off a truly brutal start to the season and locked into the playoff picture.
 
McDavid leads the MLBCofcBV9A in assists heading into Saturday, is third in scoring with 126 points, and currently ranks second in the Hart Trophy odds.
 
He’s coming off a 2-goal effort last time out against the Avalanche, after he and the Oilers were blanked the previous outing by the Dallas Stars.
 
That’s a rare occurrence these days, as the Oilers’ center has been filling stat sheets like water, with points in 11 of his last 13 Games.
 
The points are coming in bunches, too: Of those 11 Games, 10 are of the multi-point variety, as he’s piled up eight goals and 28 points over that stretch.
 
He draws the Flames Saturday night, in the final installment of the Battle of Alberta this season. 
 
McDavid has three assists in the three Games, which have all been Calgary wins, and he was held off the scoresheet in a 3-1 loss in January.
 
But he’s never really struggled against Calgary — prior to this three-Game stretch, McDavid had seven goals and 13 points in eight Games. 
 
Considering his current streak, it’s hard not to bet for a scoring breakout.

Connor McDavid prop: Over 1.5 points (-115 at Bet99)

Prop bet #3: Auston powers

Let’s wrap this up with Auston Matthews, the NHL’s leading marksman with the fourth-best NHL MVP odds this season.
 
Matthews picked up his league-leading 63rd tally in a losing effort to the Lightning Wednesday night, and he’s got seven games left to crack that elusive 70-goal plateau.
 
He hasn’t been slumping either — Matthews has lit the lamp in three straight games, and he has nine goals over his last 11 games overall.

On Saturday night, he’ll draw a Montreal Canadiens side with nothing to play for, while Toronto is trying to keep third place in the Atlantic Division, with the Tampa Bay Lightning trying to push them into the Wild Card spot.
 
Matthews has already done damage to the Habs this season, posting a hat-trick in their October 11 game, a game the Maple Leafs ultimately lost 6-5 in the shootout.
 
He’s got a pretty good track record vs Montreal too, with 14 goals in the last 16 games against the Leafs rivals, which includes a 6-game goal streak.
 
It’s a good bet he keeps it going against a Canadiens side ranked Bottom 7 in goals against.

Auston Matthews prop: Anytime goal (-140 at Bet99)