NHL Thursday player props: 3 shot totals to target

Shot props are back for tonight's busy 11-game slate. We're 3-1 on the season - falling one Craig Smith shot short of 4-0 - and looking to keep the good times going.

Let's dive into our best bets.

Thomas Chabot over 2.5 shots (-110)

Chabot was good to us last week, so we might as well go back to our old friend. These odds may have lost a little bit of their juice already, but value remains on him to go over.

The blue-liner is logging more than 27 minutes per contest for the Senators. That's insane usage, which leads to plenty of shot opportunities - even more so on home ice. Chabot is averaging nearly seven attempts and 3.3 shots on target through seven home games, which puts his shot prop in play against anybody at anything close to even money. The above-average matchup works in his favor, too.

The Kings are banged up on defense, and it shows. Los Angeles is giving up volume on a nightly basis. Opponents have generated more than 61 attempts per 60 at five-on-five over the last five games, placing the Kings 26th in the NHL.

Since Chabot is a willing shooter and logs an absurd amount of minutes, he stands to benefit the most from this matchup. And on top of that, this is expected to be a close contest - it's a low-game total with the money line odds priced nearly evenly.

If this one does turn out to be neck and neck, Chabot is not going to leave the ice. Back him to go over the number once again.

Sam Bennett over 2.5 shots on goal (+100)

Bennett averages six shot attempts per game. Bennett averages nearly 3.5 shots on goal per game. Bennett has gone over the number in six of eight games this campaign for the Panthers (including against the Penguins), falling just one shot shy in each of the other two.

Despite all of those fun facts, you can get plus money backing him to go over the number.

Pittsburgh is a good defensive team, but - as pointed out - when successfully picking Patrick Kane to go over his total, the team gives up shots. The Penguins are more focused on preventing quality than quantity.

With the implied odds of a coin flip, I like Bennett to get there tonight.

Bonus round: If you're hungry for more, Aaron Ekblad over 2.5 shots (-125) also stands out. He leads Florida in total attempts this season and registered six shots the last time these two sides met. Pittsburgh generally keeps shots to the outside, which is not something that will hurt Ekblad.

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.

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