Best NHL player prop bets (May 8): Capitals’ Protas undervalued to record a point

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

Andrei Svechnikov Anytime Goalscorer: +220 Sports Interaction

This was my favorite bet from Tuesday’s series opener and ultimately was a pretty bad beat, as Svechnikov poured 12 attempts on goal and hit the crossbar twice. It’s a little lame to go back with the same play, but all indicators suggest going back to the well here makes a lot of sense.

As a team, the Hurricanes were incredibly dominant in Game 1 and were a step faster than the Capitals all night long. Carolina’s newly formed top line of Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho, and Jackson Blake was spectacular, generating 1.27 expected goals and out-attempting the Capitals 21 to 5.

Despite the Hurricanes having played only six games this postseason, Svechnikov leads all skaters with 5.4 expected goals, and he’s now playing higher up the lineup card than he was versus New Jersey, assuming head coach Rod Brind’Amour doesn’t adjust his lines after a highly convincing win.

Svechnikov has five goals this postseason and has been aggressively taking pucks to the net, as well as finding ways to get his excellent wrist shot off consistently. At +220, I’m happy to try and see if he can net his first of the series tonight after a strong showing in Game 1.

Aliaksei Protas Over 0.5 Points: +135 Sports Interaction

Protas has looked true to form since returning from injury in Game 5 versus the Montreal Canadiens, and scored the Capitals’ lone goal on a well-placed wrister in Game 1. All season long, oddsmakers have continued to post long numbers for Protas to record a point, something the more consistent readers of these articles are well aware of.

Protas ranked 11th in the league with 50 even-strength points this season, and ranked fifth in even-strength points per 60 (minimum 150 minutes played). His skating and shooting abilities are significantly improved this season, and he is capable of using his giant frame to protect the puck well before making dangerous passes.

Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery would not reveal what adjustments might be coming to his lineup ahead of this matchup, other than the fact that Ryan Leonard would be a healthy scratch, drawing Taylor Raddysh back into the lineup.

You could wait until warm-ups to try and decipher what line changes will actually be made, but my guess is Protas will jump back into the top six where he played the majority of the season, and Raddysh will take over the spot Protas occupied on the fourth line in Game 1.

At +135, I’m happy to back one of the league’s most productive even strength players, especially if he bumps back up the lineup card. This number is too long to pass up.

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