Best NHL player prop bets (March 3): Lane Hutson an assists machine vs. Sabres this season
Join Daily Faceoff’s Nick Martin as he handicaps the best NHL player props available at online sportsbooks on Monday night.
Lane Hutson over 0.5 assists: -105 Sports Interaction
The Calder Trophy race is heating up, as Lane Hutson and Matvei Michkov have both come out of the 4 Nations Face-Off break in excellent form, cutting into the presumptive lead of favorite Macklin Celebrini.
Hutson has put up five points and four assists in four games since the break, including a pair of assists in the Montreal Canadiens’ win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.
The Sabres and Canadiens will play the second leg of their home-and-home Monday in Montreal, and if the first three matchups of the season are any indicator, Hutson should have a great opportunity to build on his lead in the rookie scoring race.
The Canadiens have averaged 5.66 goals per game versus the Sabres this season, and Hutson has put up two assists in all three matchups.
Hutson continues to get generate plenty of scoring chance assists quarterbacking the Canadiens’ top power play unit, which has succeeded on 30.8% of opportunities since the break. He is getting a lot of offensive zone starts alongside the Canadiens’ top offensive line of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Juraj Slafkovsky, a line which has been red-hot of late.
KIDS: Lane Hutson is an absolute superstar and this play epitomizes his star status.
Watch how FAST he gets going in transition from their Dzone coverage. On entry, he draws 3 BUF defenders to him in the middle of the ice, opening up space for his teammates and MTL makes the… pic.twitter.com/iHXkF1aGQT
Since the turn of the New Year, Hutson has racked up 20 points in 23 games, recording a single assist in 14 (60.8%) of those matchups. The Sabres provide a better than average matchup for that trend to continue, and at -105, we are getting a good price to back another strong performance from Hutson as he continues his push for the Calder Trophy.
Mackie Samoskevich over 1.5 shots on goal: -150 Sports Interaction
The Florida Panthers have been patient in developing Samoskevich after selecting him 24th overall in 2021, and the 22-year-old winger looks to be blossoming into a real player. With Matthew Tkachuk sidelined, he is currently skating on the second line, and has been promoted to the top power play unit ahead of Monday’s matchup.
Even prior to stepping into his newfound improved roles, Samoskevich had been pouring shots on target at a pretty lofty rate. Over the last 10 games, he has averaged 2.5 shots on goal per game, while attempting five shots per game. He has averaged only 14:09 of time-on-ice in that span, a mark which will presumably rise in his current roles.
Over the entirety of the season, Samoskevich ranks fourth among all Panthers skaters averaging 16.87 shot attempts per 60. As he takes on a larger role, his volume should rise significantly, and backing him at -150 to record over 1.5 shots in Monday’s matchup looks to provide plenty of value.
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