NHL Wednesday player props: 2 shooters to target
Tuesday was a solid night for shot props. Our picks went 2-1, with Jordan Kyrou falling one short of giving us a perfect 3-0 showing.
We'll look to build on yesterday's success as we go through the best way to approach tonight's four-game slate.
Aleksander Barkov over 3.5 shots (+110)Barkov is scorching hot. He's tied for 10th in shot attempts over the last eight games, which unsurprisingly has led to significant shot volume. Barkov has recorded at least four shots on goal in seven of the last eight games. He's firing on all cylinders - literally.
While the Hurricanes are a solid shot-suppression team, Barkov appeals to me tonight for a couple of reasons. He tends to see significant workloads (22+ minutes) in close games against quality opponents. For example, he played more than 23 the last time these two met. That's a plus.
So, too, is the fact he's skating on a line with Jonathan Huberdeau. The latter is a pass-first player who tends to defer to his linemates to shoot. That shows in Barkov's numbers. Barkov averages more than 17 shot attempts per 60 minutes of five-on-five play with Huberdeau. By comparison, that number is just over 11 when Sam Reinhart is on the top line.
I think this is a sneaky good spot for Barkov, and I'm happy to back him at plus money.
Alex Pietrangelo over 2.5 shots (-112)The Avalanche are a solid defensive team, but they aren't without flaws. They struggle with limiting the involvement of opposing defenders, ranking bottom-10 in shots allowed per game to defensemen.
That's good news for Pietrangelo. The veteran blue-liner leads the Golden Knights in shot attempts by nine over the last 10 games. He's generating a lot of shots, and if history is any indication, I expect that to continue tonight.
Pietrangelo has at least three shots on goal in nine of the last 10 games against Colorado, falling just one short in the lone exception.
With Pietrangelo shooting a lot and the Avalanche struggling to limit shot volume versus defensemen, I expect another active night from him.
Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.
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