NHL Wednesday best bets: Dealing with the Devils
We have just three games on the slate Wednesday. While only one jumps out to me, we luckily have some shot props to attack and beef up the card.
Let's get into the best bets.
Coyotes (+180) @ Devils (-220)The Arizona Coyotes are arguably playing their best hockey of the season. They've posted a 4-4-2 record over the last 10 games and have scored 34 goals, tying them for 10th in the NHL during that span. Tenth!
But while I can see the Coyotes being competitive in this game, the New Jersey Devils are a tier or two above them, and that'll shine through here.
The Devils have dealt with injuries and COVID all season long. They've largely idled over the last couple of weeks, which has given all of their players time to recover and return to the lineup.
Dougie Hamilton and Miles Wood aside, New Jersey should be at full strength tonight. Yegor Sharangovich, Pavel Zacha, Andreas Johnsson, Jesper Bratt, and Mackenzie Blackwood, among others, were activated over the last few days and will play.
All of those returns not only give the Devils more star power to work with than the Coyotes, but also more depth.
I like New Jersey to take care of business at home against a bad Coyotes team playing its fourth game in six nights.
Bet: Devils in regulation (-140)
Rickard Rakell under 2.5 shots on goal (-118)Rickard Rakell is overvalued on the player prop market and has been for quite some time. He just doesn't shoot the puck enough to be priced like three shots is a near 50/50 proposition. It isn't.
Rakell has generated just 22 shots on goal over the last 10 games. He's gone over the number (2.5) just three times in that span.
That's no coincidence given that he attempted only 43 shots in that span, which is 15-20 below what most of our over targets produce in a 10-game sample.
Believe it or not, Rakell has been less productive on home ice this season. He's hit three shots only six times in 15 games, compared to eight in 16 on the road.
Plus, Rakell finds himself in a very difficult matchup against the Colorado Avalanche. At five-on-five, they've allowed just 49.88 shot attempts per 60 minutes over the last 10 games. That's only a couple of attempts more than the likes of the Boston Bruins and Vegas Golden Knights; good company to be keeping.
Rakell hasn't shown the ability to generate shots at a high clip for quite some time. I don't see him having a big night against such a strong shot-suppression team.
Nazem Kadri over 3.5 shots on goal (-118)Nathan MacKinnon's recent unfathomable levels of shot generation have masked Nazem Kadri's impressive outputs.
Kadri has amassed 69 shot attempts and 41 shots on goal over the last 10 games, both of which rank him in the top 10 among NHL forwards.
Kadri has also recorded at least four shots seven times over that span, including five of his last six.
While he's probably not going to average more than four shots per contest over a large period of time, I don't expect him to cool down in this spot. The Anaheim Ducks are missing several key pieces, and they've been getting kicked in the teeth defensively.
Only the Montreal Canadiens, Buffalo Sabres, and Columbus Blue Jackets - three rebuilding teams - have conceded more shots per game over the last 10.
Back Kadri to get it done.
Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.
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