Best NHL prop bets (May 15): Back this Capitals forward to score at long odds

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

CAR/WSH First Period Under 1.5 Total Goals: -128 Sports Interaction

Unless you’re a loyal Carolina Hurricanes fan that has enjoyed watching them relentlessly grind the Washington Capitals down in the opening five games of this series, you probably have not found the games overly interesting.

Altogether the hockey in this series has not been overly exciting, as the Hurricanes have done a tremendous job of limiting the Capitals’ high-quality scoring chances but are certainly not playing an overly interesting brand of hockey at the other end of the ice, pouring lofty outputs of low-quality shots on goal and hoping to create chaos.

Frederik Andersen and Logan Thompson have both been razor-sharp this postseason and currently rank first and second, respectively, in goals saved above expected rating.

These two teams have combined for one just one goal in the first period across all four games in this series, and it seems likely that tonight’s game will feature a comparable start. The Hurricanes continue to do an excellent job of tracking back in the neutral zone, and taking away all time and space from a Capitals side that scored 3.49 goals per game in the regular season.

Defensively, the Capitals are hanging in respectably, especially early on in games before their defensive core runs out of gas. Thanks to a critical loss in Martin Fehervary, head coach Spencer Carbery is mainly playing just five defenders, and it seems to be hurting the defensive core’s ability to get up the ice and help to generate offense, which was a massive strength in the regular season.

At -128, I see value going back to a play that has hit in each game of the series, especially in an elimination game which figures to be quite evenly contested.

Ryan Leonard Anytime Goalscorer: +850 Sports Interaction

While this does not look like a great spot to bet on offensive production from the Capitals, at +850, there looks to be value in throwing a dart on Ryan Leonard to score.

Connor McMichael is set to take over the role as the team’s third-line center, which makes sense as former third-line center Lars Eller has clearly been the worst Capitals forward in this series. McMichael is a highly capable puck-mover, and was effective playing the middle of the ice earlier in the series.

Leonard has failed to record a goal this postseason but has been anchored to Eller on a third line that has struggled overall. The highly-touted forward has shown strong flashes offensively, and will be much more well situated to do damage offensively with a more competent center in McMichael.

Leonard scored 30 goals in 37 games this season with Boston College, and should be due to finish chances at a higher rate moving forward with that in mind. Take a shot at long odds on the youngster in this spot.

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