NHL Thursday player props: Oilers' Kane to excel vs. Flyers
We have a fun seven-game slate to look forward to on Thursday night. Let's waste no time getting to a few props that stand out from the pack.
Evander Kane over 3.5 shots (+115)Coming off a severe wrist injury, I had concerns about Kane's willingness to rip pucks on net every opportunity he gets. He's erased those doubts with his play since rejoining the lineup.
Kane has attempted 36 shots over his last five games played, which equates to 7.2 attempts per contest. That's actually more than his season average of 6.7, which was already a strong number.
I expect him to continue shooting early and often in a juicy matchup against the Flyers. They rank 29th in shot suppression at five-on-five over the last 10 games. Kane doesn't play on the top power-play unit, so a weak five-on-five side is more beneficial to him than a team that parades to the box or struggles to kill penalties.
It's also worth noting the Flyers sit 26th in shots against per game versus left-wingers. That's their worst ranking against any position.
There's a lot of value backing Kane at this price.
Noah Dobson over 2.5 shots (-105)Dobson is a player I really like backing on home soil. He's averaged 3.3 shots and 7.2 attempts on Long Island this season while going over his shot total an impressive 60% of the time.
His numbers have fallen off a cliff on the road. He's averaging only 2.2 shots and 5.3 attempts away from home this season. Unsurprisingly, that has led to a success rate 16% lower than his home outputs.
On Thursday night, Dobson finds himself on home soil with an enticing matchup against the Canucks. Although they have tightened up a little bit - in terms of preventing shots, anyway - under new head coach Rick Tocchet, their personnel isn't good, and they're on a road back-to-back against an Islanders team in need of every point it can get.
I expect the Islanders to control the run of play in this game and fire a lot of pucks on goal. Dobson should get his fair share.
Kirill Kaprizov over 3.5 shots (-115)If you thought Dobson's home/road splits were wild, wait until I get to Kaprizov's. It doesn't much matter who he's facing on a given night; it only matters where the game will take place.
Kaprizov has averaged 3.2 shots per game on the road this season and hit the over on his total a putrid 31% of the time. It's a drastically different story in Minnesota, where Kaprizov averages 4.3 shots and has hit the over at an impressive 63% clip.
His productivity booms when head coach Dean Evason can keep him away from the opposing team's top defensive players and get him on the ice in more advantageous situations. Kaprizov will benefit from that luxury tonight.
With the Wild in the midst of a rut and on the verge of seeing their playoff spot slip away, Kaprizov will no doubt get all the ice he can handle as Minnesota looks to begin its homestand on a positive note.
Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.
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