3 Best NHL Props to Back on October 23: Hagel, Kantserov and Necas

Two games on the NHL board tonight, which means there is nowhere to hide and nothing to skim past. Montreal visits Chicago at 8:00 PM ET, then Tampa Bay heads to Denver for a 9:00 PM ET faceoff against a Colorado team that has dropped two straight. Small slate, big appetite. We picked the three props we like best across both games, no matter what type of bet they are.

The menu is two anytime goal scorers and one shots-on-goal over, all chosen because the price and the matchup agree with each other. Check your book before you fire, since numbers move all day.

Brandon Hagel Anytime Goal Scorer (+180)

Hagel has been one of the most dangerous wingers in the league through nine games. He has 7 goals on 41 shots, and he is scoring at a pace that has Tampa Bay’s top line looking like a cheat code. On Tuesday in Vegas he scored a power-play goal on three shots and finished plus-2 in a 6-2 win. He skates next to Anthony Cirelli and Nikita Kucherov, which is about as good a neighborhood as a goal scorer can ask for.

The price is the fun part. FanDuel is dealing +180 on Hagel, which implies roughly a 36 percent chance, while the model we leaned on has him closer to 40 percent. That is a thin edge on paper, but the shot volume is real, and Colorado’s Mackenzie Blackwood is sitting on a .889 save percentage. Hagel also has 7 goals and 5 assists in 9 career games against the Avalanche. We will gladly take plus money on a guy who fires the puck this often.

Roman Kantserov Over 1.5 Shots on Goal (-188)

Meet the rookie everyone in Chicago is suddenly talking about. Kantserov, the 22-year-old right winger wearing number 80, has 3 goals and 12 shots through nine games, including a four-shot, two-goal night against Pittsburgh for his first NHL multi-goal game. He skates about 18 and a half minutes a night and gets a real look on the power play, which is where shot volume comes from.

Now the honest part. He has been quiet lately, with no shots in his last two games, so this is a bounce-back bet and not a hot-hand bet. The -188 price at FanDuel tells you the book expects him to clear two, and our projection of 1.83 shots lands right in that neighborhood. Chicago is at home at the United Center, and he is also priced as an anytime goal scorer at around +240 to +250 against Montreal’s Jakub Dobes. The over is the safer play and the goal is the spicy one.

Martin Necas Anytime Goal Scorer (+200)

Necas is the third piece of a Colorado top line that also includes Nathan MacKinnon and Artturi Lehkonen, and he has been cooking. Through nine games he has 5 goals, 6 assists and 20 shots, with 3 goals and 4 assists over his last five outings. He scored in Monday’s loss to Philadelphia after a two-goal night against Dallas. This is the same guy who put up 38 goals and 62 assists last season.

The matchup is the kicker. Andrei Vasilevskiy has been uncharacteristically shaky this year, sitting at a .886 save percentage over six starts after posting a .912 last season. Colorado is a home favorite, and a +200 ticket with a model probability around 33 percent is a price we are happy to pay. Need a refresher on how to read that number? Our how betting odds work guide breaks it down.

Lock These In

Tonight’s card has one safe-ish play and two plus-money swings, which is exactly the mix we like. These three live in two different games, so treat them as separate bets, and if you want to learn how same game parlays work, we have a page for that too. Here is the full list:

• Brandon Hagel anytime goal scorer (+180)
• Roman Kantserov OVER 1.5 shots on goal (-188)
• Martin Necas anytime goal scorer (+200)

Two games, three bets, plenty of ways to enjoy your Friday night. Shop around for the best number, keep your unit sizes sane, and let the puck do the rest.