NHL Bets: Eight Best Player Prop Picks for April 4, 2024

Wow, the last few days we have been hot, hot, hot, and anyone reading has profited! +4.00 units on tracked bets ($400 dollars profit on $100 dollar unit bets) if you are following my live cash-outs on X, and +2.49 units if you aren’t. Last night, I tweeted that everyone should cash-out their 3-Way Moneyline bet on the Rangers with five minutes left when the Rangers got up by 1. I only made $25 profit on a $50 bet (when I could have made $40 profit if I just let it ride, and it did end up winning). So sometimes, the cash-outs don’t pan out. But I’ll take that over a loss (like we had on Tuesday in the Devils game) any day of the week. So it won’t always save you, but if you want to keep up with the cash outs I’m taking, it’s easy to toss a follow on X and keep notifications on. You don’t have to take my suggested cash outs, but they are helpful in certain situations:

Tweets by PlusMoneyPost

On to the action. We’re back for a fourth day in a row of more prime NHL bets! Nothing better than having at least six games of puck on every night of the week so us degenerates can dive back into the betting arena. And like the OG Russell Crowe in Gladiator, we will continue to win in this arena. For today’s slate, I only have shots-on-goal (SOG) player props on the docket. But don’t you worry child, there is a lot to choose from.

*Units for me will be $50, bet responsibly.

Game 1: Boston Bruins vs Carolina Hurricanes, 5:00 p.m. CST

Pick: Jake Guentzel Over 2.5 SOG -180 (0.75u)

Guentzel is mad underrated. I mean, sure the guy played with Crosby for a while, but it still takes some filthy hands, skill, and smarts to keep putting up 40 goals a year like he did. Not to mention his playoff performances, of which there were many. Man, Carolina really might have found the missing piece with this trade.

Guentzy has been one of my favourite Over SOG bets this year because of two reasons: (1) He is consistent, and (2) His line constantly hovers back around 2.5 SOG when he averages 3.6 SOG per game. Those two points on their own should have you confident betting this line.

Now, he has only put up 2 SOG in his last two games, but the four games before that? 6, 3, 4, and 3 SOG. He slings it, and I feel some positive regression coming just like I did with Matthews last night (and he had 6 SOG by the 2nd period).

Game 2: Ottawa Senators vs Florida Panthers, 5:00 p.m. CST

Pick: Drake Batherson Under 2.5 SOG -120 (0.5u)

Is it just me, or does anyone else think that the Sens love to edge (sexual term, look it up on urban dictionary if you don’t know the meaning) their fans? They get the fans so excited before the season, with supposedly great additions, coming off a good end to the season …. and they let out a big ol’ shart in their pants. The team is terrible, the fans hate themselves for getting excited, and there are calls to fire the coach. Then, at the end of the season, they start to ramp it up again, winning meaningless games, getting the home crowd all horned up again before leaving them just before climax.

Sorry for that tangent, I just thought it needed saying. But the art/science of mathematics is why I’m hitting this line. Florida is 2nd best in the League at preventing shots and the Sens aren’t in the top half of the league in SOG. Batherson averages 2.35 shots-per-game (SPG) on the season and in his last five games, he only has hit Over this line once, and that was four games ago. Pop, lock, and drop it.

Game 3: Pittsburgh Penguins vs Washington Capitals, 5:00 p.m. CST

Pick: Drew O’Connor Over 1.5 SOG -150 (0.5u)

Man, this match-up used to be appointment television. Sid the Kid vs Ove, a rivalry to fuel a generation. These teams used to go at it, and the playoff match-ups were something epic. Now …. these are two teams stuck between contending and rebuilding, and the futures don’t exactly look bright.

Nonetheless, the future does look a little bit brighter for the Pens because of 25-year-old O’Connor. This guy has locked up that top spot on the first line with Rust and Crosby, replacing the previously mentioned Guentzel. He’s definitely stepped up lately with his offensive production, having 2, 2, 2, 4, and 4 SOG in his last five games. All of those outcomes would hit the Over on this line. Oh yea, and he is averaging almost exactly 2 SPG on the season. Hit it uppppp.

Game 4: New York Islanders vs Columbus Blue Jackets, 5:00 p.m. CST

Pick: Matt Barzal Over 2.5 SOG -150 (0.75u)

I remember watching Barzal dominate the Memorial Cup while he was on Seattle in the WHL. Even then, it was clear he was going to be a stud in the NHL. And a stud he has become. This guy is electric, with amazing skating and vision that would put the world’s finest binoculars to shame. Just a treat to watch, and tonight you get to watch him while wagering some of your hard-earned scratch on him. And he shouldn’t disappoint.

This isn’t as much about the Islanders being shooters (16th in SOG in the League) as it is about Columbus doing their best sieve impression all year (giving up the 2nd most SOG in the League). You can add to that Barzal has hit this line in ⅗ of his last five games, and in the other two games, he had 2 SOG, narrowly missing. Barzal’s season average is exactly 3 SPG.

Over incoming.

Game 5: Winnipeg Jets vs Calgary Flames, 6:00 p.m. CST

Pick: Gabe Vilardi Over 1.5 SOG -200 (0.75u)

Pick: Nicolaj Ehlers Over 2.5 SOG -160 (0.5u)

We got a classic case of double bubble here! I liked both of these props so much that I couldn’t choose just one. Plus, twice the exposure, twice the pleasure when we win.

Winnipeg is 10th in the League in shots on goal this year, and the averages for these two players, along with their recent performance, don’t justify these lines.

First you have Vilardi. He was recently injured, but in the two games since he’s been back, he has 4 and 2 SOG. And he averages 2.48 SPG on the year. What is this 1.5 SOG line?! The disrespect.

Then Ehlers. 0 SOG in his last game, but 5, 5, and 3 SOG the three games before that. A 2.85 SPG average on the season. And they dare challenge me with this 2.5 SOG line? C’mon now.

All jokes aside, I’m more confident in the Vilardi pick, but it’s priced that way, and I’ll take a stab at both with the current odds.

Game 6: Minnesota Wild vs Colorado Avalanche, 6:00 p.m. CST

Pick: Matt Boldy Under 3.5 SOG -175 (0.5u)

Boldy is actually a really good, young player who will have a long career in this League. I just don’t see him getting the shots tonight, no matter how bold he thinks he is.

The Wild don’t shoot (25th in SOG in the League) and the Avs don’t allow shots (top 10 in the League at preventing SOG). But Boldy’s line is 3.5 SOG, so he must be some rank shooter, right? Well, he ain’t.

He only hit Over this line in two of his last six games, and he averages 2.96 SPG on the season. So how is this line 3.5 SOG when he is facing a team that’s notorious for being stingy on opponents SOG.

It doesn’t make sense, so take advantage of it my friends.

Game 7: San Jose Sharks vs Los Angeles Kings, 8:30 p.m. CST

Pick: Fabian Zetterlund Under 2.5 SOG -125 (0.5u)

This will be short and sweet to end the article.

Sharks suck. They are 30th in SOG in the League. LA Kings are a good defensive team. They are 3rd in the League in preventing SOG.

There was ONE!!!! player on San Jose that had a higher line than 1.5 SOG, and that was Zetterlund. This 2.5 line should give us enough room in this game, with Zetterlund only averaging 2.43 SPG on the season and missing this line in three of his last five games.

See, this analysis thing is pretty easy sometimes.

Well that’s it people. I will be posting an article soon with picks for the UFC Fight Night this upcoming weekend, as well as another article on Final Four picks for March Madness. If you want to make sure you don’t miss these articles, follow me on X at @plusmoneypost as I will be sharing them there.