3 NHL Best-of-Board Props to Back on October 18: Jankowski, Coyle and Wolf

Sunday’s NHL slate is a lean two-game card, which means there is nowhere to hide and no filler games to scroll past. Columbus visits Minnesota at 6:00 PM ET, then Carolina heads to Calgary for an 8:00 PM ET faceoff at the Saddledome. Two games, three props, and plenty of storylines worth poking at.

We went looking for a streak that refuses to die, a playmaker who keeps turning teammates into goal scorers, and a goalie number that feels a little too tall. Every line below was pulled from the board as of this writing, so check your book before you fire since numbers move fast on a small slate.

Mark Jankowski Anytime Goal Scorer: The Streak Nobody Can Stop

Here is a fun one: Mark Jankowski, the Hurricanes’ third-line center, has scored in each of Carolina’s last six games. He is the only player in the league with a six-game goal streak this season, and it ties the franchise record since the team relocated from Hartford. He has five goals through eight games, which is a ridiculous rate for a guy averaging just under 14 minutes a night.

The price still looks generous. Dimers lists the best anytime goal number on Jankowski at +450, and their model puts his scoring chance at roughly 26.8 percent, well above the roughly 18 percent a +450 ticket implies. That gap is the whole reason this is on the card.

The matchup helps too. Calgary is 1-6 with 14 goals for and 35 against, and Dustin Wolf has been shaky behind a leaky group. Jankowski was a first-round pick of the Flames in 2012, so there is a revenge-game narrative if you want one. Jersey number 77, anytime goal, and we are riding the heater while the price is still fat.

Charlie Coyle Over 1.5 Points: Columbus’s Quiet Table-Setter

Charlie Coyle has quietly been the engine for the Blue Jackets. The number 3 center has six points through six games, all of them assists, and he is on a three-game point streak. He leads Columbus in both points and assists, and he is the Blue Jackets’ top forward in plus-minus at +2.

Coyle also skates on the first power-play unit alongside Zach Werenski, and one of those six assists has already come with the man advantage. That role matters against a Minnesota team that is 3-0 on home ice, because Columbus needs to cash in on its power plays to keep pace.

The over 1.5 points line was spotted at -140, which is a steep price for a two-point night. That is the honest tradeoff here: you are paying for a player who has been involved in a huge share of Columbus’s scoring, not hunting a long shot. Prices vary by book, and a quick run through an odds converter shows how much a few cents of juice really cost you.

Dustin Wolf Saves Under 28.5: A Goalie Line That Got Too Tall

This is the contrarian play on the board. Wolf has had a rough start, going 1-4-0 with a 4.85 goals-against average and an .834 save percentage, and the first reaction is to bet the over because Carolina will bury him in shots. The data argues the other way.

The saves line is sitting at 28.5, with the under at -106 at the book we checked. Wolf averaged 24.2 saves per game last season, and his recent lines have run between 23.5 and 27.5. In his last outing, a 6-2 loss at Vegas, he faced 33 shots and stopped 27, so even in a blowout he finished well short of this number. Carolina is projected for roughly 3.75 goals, which says the Hurricanes win this one with finishing, not necessarily with volume.

There is also a schedule angle. Carolina played Saturday in Winnipeg and flew roughly 750 miles to Calgary, so this is the second half of a back-to-back for a thinned-out forward group with Jordan Staal and Seth Jarvis on injured reserve. Tired legs tend to mean fewer sustained zone shifts, and Brandon Bussi is expected to start in goal for Carolina. If the Hurricanes grab an early lead and manage the game, the under at 28.5 makes more sense than chasing a total that needs 29 stops. You can compare goalie lines across books with a player prop search before locking anything in.

Lock These In

Sunday’s card is small, but the edges are real: a goal streak with a model-backed price, a playmaker with a high floor, and a goalie line that asks for more than the recent data suggests. Here are the three plays.

• Mark Jankowski Anytime Goal Scorer (+450 best seen)
• Charlie Coyle OVER 1.5 Points (-140 seen)
• Dustin Wolf UNDER 28.5 Saves (-106)

Odds move quickly, so compare prices before you bet and only play what you can afford to lose. If the streak hits for a seventh straight game, enjoy it.