NHL player prop bets (Feb. 6): This Utah forward appears unfazed by long layoff

Join Daily Faceoff’s Nick Martin as he handicaps the best NHL player props available on Thursday night.

Aliaksei Protas Over 0.5 Points: -110 Sports Interaction

While goaltender Logan Thompson’s incredible play has to be considered the greatest single reason the Washington Capitals rank first in points percentage this season, Protas’s surprisingly excellent play is not far behind.

The Belarusian giant continues to display excellent play in all areas of the ice, and continues to earn a larger role from head coach Spencer Carbery.

Protas sits tied with linemate Pierre-Luc Dubois for the team lead with 13 points over the last 15 games. His average of 18:03 time-on-ice during that span ranks second among Caps forwards, and his larger role has been very well deserved.

Protas’s lesser skating ability was a key reason he was still available in the third round of the 2019 NHL entry draft, but his skating has now become one of his greatest strengths, especially considering his size. He does a great job of keeping plays alive down low in the offensive zone, and has developed into a high-quality passer which has paired well with his quality puck protection.

The Capitals’ current second line of Protas, Dubois, and Connor McMichael has generated 3.64 xGF/60, which ranks fourth in the NHL among offensive units to spend over 200 minutes together.

The Philadelphia Flyers have allowed 3.33 goals against per game this season, which is the sixth-highest mark in the NHL. They do a far better than average of suppressing opponents’ quality scoring chances, but continue to be marred by league-worst goaltending, and therefore provide Protas with a solid matchup to remain productive.

Dylan Guenther Anytime Goalscorer: +220 Sports Interaction

We’ve talked a lot about Guenther in these pieces this season, as the 21 year-old’s offensive upside was clearly underrated at the beginning of the campaign. In fact, I had even written up Guenther to score on January 10th, before it was announced that he would miss the team’s matchup versus the San Jose Sharks with a lower-body injury, an injury which kept him out of the lineup for 12 consecutive games.

Being the fool that I am, I did not back Guenther to score in his return on Feb. 2 against the Philadelphia Flyers, and sure enough he broke through with a beautiful buzzer-beater in overtime.

Over the last five games, Guenther has generated 2.31 expected goals from a total of 36 attempts. He had six shots and 12 attempts on goal in his return to action on Tuesday. He possesses one of the best releases in the game, and also features an excellent one-timer which is Utah’s preferred look on the team’s top power play unit.

Utah is catching the Columbus Blue Jackets at a good time, as Columbus will be without a number of its most important skaters, including Kirill Marchenko, Sean Monahan, Yegor Chinakhov, Dante Fabbro, and possibly top defender Zach Werenski. Marchenko and Monahan have not only been highly productive, but have both been tremendous defensively this season. Fabbro has been the team’s second-best defender since arriving on November 12th, while Werenski has obviously been fantastic and would likely earn a Norris Trophy nomination if the season ended today.

Even with those key skaters in the lineup, though, it’s not like the Blue Jackets have been a defensive juggernaut by any means. They have allowed 3.30 goals against per game this season, which is the seventh-worst mark in the league.

At +220, I believe we are getting a good price to see if Guenther can follow up his excellent return to play Tuesday with another strong outing, and hopefully get himself back on the scoresheet.

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