Join Daily Faceoff’s Nick Martin as he handicaps the best NHL player prop bets available from Monday’s two-game slate.

Best Bet – Pius Suter over 0.5 Points: +130 (bet365, play to +115)

Robert Thomas seems likely to miss Monday’s matchup, as he is listed as day-to-day and missed Monday’s morning skate. Thomas’s absence appears to be opening the door for an expanded role for Suter, who overtook Thomas’s roles on the top line alongside Pavel Buchnevich and Jimmy Snuggerud, and top power-play unit at the morning skate.

Suter was one of the few bright spots for the Vancouver Canucks in the final third of last season, after inheriting a better role thanks to J.T. Miller’s departure and injuries to key Canucks forwards.

Suter tallied 22 points in his final 30 games last season, and 17 points in the final 20 matchups of the season. Those marks suggest he has the offensive upside to succeed in a more important role.

It’s not as though this play is entirely relying on the possibility of improved production based on Suter’s heightened role, either. Suter has recorded a single point in four of his first eight games played this season, which also argues +130 is a solid number.

While the Penguins are off to a surprisingly strong start, they have allowed 3.61 xGA/60 this season, and were one of the league’s worst defensive teams last year. 

On top of the fact that Suter’s potentially improved usage should prove beneficial, the Penguins still have to be viewed as a better than average matchup.

Best Bet – Shane Pinto Over 2.5 SOG: +145 (bet365, play to +135)

It’s hard to look past the NHL goal-scoring leader recording three shots on goal Monday considering the excellent price of +145. Pinto has recorded over 2.5 shots on goal in six of his nine games played this season, and there’s a strong case to be made that his shooting output is not likely to tick down too considerably moving forward.

Pinto leads all Senators skaters with 19.02 shot attempts per 60, and also leads the team with 10.57 shots on target per 60. He’s averaged 18:56 of time-on-ice this season, though he is playing further down the lineup card on paper (third-line, second power-play unit). 

Pinto has fared well playing alongside Claude Giroux on the third line, as he’s a throuroughly-proven playmaker that is obviously looking for the NHL’s hottest shooter as much as possible.

The Bruins are a better than average matchup, as they have allowed 29.72 shots against per 60 this season, and will typically spend plenty of the time in the defensive zone.

You can follow all of Nick’s hockey bets on the Action Network App!