Join Daily Faceoff’s Nick Martin as he handicaps the best NHL player props available on Wednesday night.
J.T. Miller Over 0.5 Points: -189 Sports Interaction
As most observers expected, Miller has looked much more inspired since being traded away from an ugly situation with the Vancouver Canucks. Miller has put up four points in his first two games with the New York Rangers, and finds himself in one of the more favorable roles in hockey playing alongside Artemi Panarin.
The Rangers are massive favorites Wednesday as they host the Boston Bruins, who bested the Rangers 6-3 on Saturday afternoon in Boston. This matchup comes in a far more favorable spot for the Rangers, as the Bruins hosted the Minnesota Wild last night and started No. 1 goaltender Jeremy Swayman.
Since January 1st, the Bruins hold an xGA/60 rating of 3.84, which is the second-worst mark in the league. They have also allowed 33.40 shots against per 60 in that span, and despite Swayman finding top form, have still allowed 3.50 goals against per game where it counts.
Top defender Charlie McAvoy did miss seven of the Bruins’ 16 games in that span, but the team’s defensive numbers have still been pretty ugly when he has been in the lineup recently.
Miller is also skating on the Rangers’ top power play unit, which has been among the league’s best in recent years due to the play of Panarin and Adam Fox. The addition of Miller should makes the Rangers’ power play one of the league’s best on paper, and their top unit should start to find results closer to what we have seen in seasons previous when Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider were in better form.
If you’re not interested in laying -189 as a single, backing Miller to record two points or an assist are also solid options. Laying heavy juice is a perfectly fine betting strategy if you do believe the price is still off from where it should be. My belief is that Miller should be priced a little closer to Panarin, who is -290 to record one point, and therefore am happy to argue -189 is worth a play.
Drew Doughty Over 0.5 Points: -110 Sports Interaction
The Los Angeles Kings certainly have not eased their top defender back into action, as in his first three games of the season Doughty has averaged 25:17 of ice time per game.
All three of those games came in the form of tough matchups on the road, and the Kings scored just four goals combined versus the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, and Carolina Hurricanes.
Doughty and the Kings get a significantly easier matchup Wednesday, as they host a struggling Montreal Canadiens side which played Tuesday versus the San Jose Sharks.
Over the last 10 games, the Canadiens have allowed 3.60 goals against per game, and a second-worst xGA/60 rating of 3.94.
Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes has had a fantastic start to his NHL career, sporting a 2.10 GAA and .927 save percentage in his initial seven appearances. He has allowed seven goals against in his last two outings, however, and it’s unlikely he will continue to post better numbers in the NHL than he did in the AHL over a larger sample of play.
Doughty put up 50 points in 82 games last season, netting a single point in 48.7% of matchups. He looked better in Saturday’s win over the Hurricanes, earning his first point of the season. It seems likely that the potential Hall of Famer will continue to play at a higher level as he gets up to speed, and in a matchup versus a suspect Canadiens defence, I believe the chances he earns a point are being underrated by oddsmakers.
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