3 NHL Player Prop Bets to Target on Wednesday 10/11/23

Player props can be useful in a variety of ways -- from taking advantage of them straight up to measuring a player's potential to produce in daily fantasy baseball on FanDuel. Here, we're going to focus on the former.

Utilizing numberFire's projections as a guide, here are some NHL player props bets that look appealing via the NHL odds at FanDuel Sportsbook.

Please note that betting lines and numberFire's projections may change throughout the day after this article is published. Also, the weather may be an issue in some locations.

William Nylander To Score a Goal (+120)

The Toronto Maple Leafs open the season at home with a big 3.98 implied goal total against the Montreal Canadiens.

The simple way to look at this matchup is that the Maple Leafs are very good and the Canadiens are very bad. These are two teams at opposite ends of the standings and will be a common theme throughout the season.

Last season, the Canadiens ended with a 61.13 Corsi Against (Total Shot Attempts Allowed) per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, which was the fifth-worst in the league. That led to them allowing 3.04 Goals in the same situations, which was good for the sixth-worst. Allowing a ton of shot attempts is bad and that often leads to goals, simple as that.

The Leafs' offense was among the best in the league with 2.80 Goals scored in the same situations, or the seventh-best, not to mention an elite power-play unit.

This leads us to William Nylander to score a goal tonight, something he did 40 times last season. Coming into this season, Nylander is expected to see his usual role on the second forward line and the first power-play unit, putting him in a prime spot to find the back of the net any given night.

Nylander is also entering a contract year, which has hit some stalled negotiations with the Maple Leafs front office. What better way to prove he's worth a contract extension than getting the year started with a goal?

Leon Draisaitl To Record 2+ Points (+110)

Leon Draisaitl is arguably the third-best player in the NHL and we get him at plus money tonight.

Last season, Draisaitl ended with a whopping 128 points in 80 games (1.6 points per game), which put him over 100 total points for the fourth time in five seasons. There aren't many players in the league that legitimately have multi-goal or multi-point potential every single game, but Draisaitl is one of them.

The Edmonton Oilers have a 3.51 implied goal total tonight against the Vancouver Canucks, which features a juicy 6.5 total with -140 on the over. Needless to say, there are a ton of goals expected in this game, and we want to get some exposure to that scoring.

Draisaitl skates on the second forward line and the first power-play unit, the latter of which is alongside the best player in the world, Connor McDavid.

For the Canucks, they struggled on defense last year by allowing 2.90 Goals per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, which was the seventh-worst in the league. The scoring should come early and often tonight, with Draisaitl being firmly in the mix.

Brent Burns To Record 4+ Shots (-120)

Brent Burns likes to shoot the puck a lot and is always a great option for a shot prop.

Last year, Burns led the Carolina Hurricanes with 255 shots in 82 games or 3.1 shots per game. A quick glance at his game log will show you he routinely pushes to five, six, or seven shots per game.

This shouldn't be a surprise because that's what the Canes have been known for over the past few seasons and I expect it to continue this year. Last season, the Canes led the NHL with a 67.8 Corsi For (Total Shot Attempts Created) per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations. They finished with the second-highest (63.41) Corsi For in 2021.

Pucks on net is essentially the theme of this team, forcing the opposing defense and goalie to work all night long.

Tonight, they are up against the Ottawa Senators, who ended last season with the sixth-highest (60.71) Corsi For. These are two teams that love to push the pace on offense, which should lead to a back-and-forth game, which is conducive to shots on goal.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.