Best NHL Player-Prop Bets to consider for Thursday, February 22

Sidney Crosby Center Sidney Crosby and his Pittsburgh Penguins teammates will face the Montreal Canadiens for the third time this season on Thursday night. Both of the previous Pens-Habs matchups went all the way to overtime and a shootout, where Pittsburgh won each time. Crosby’s Penguins will try to be more dominant at home on Thursday as they go for what they expect to be a third win over Montreal. For that to happen, the Penguins will need a big performance from their captain, who has exceeded his current shots-on-goal prop total in just one of his last five games. While the under might seem like the better play here, I like the over because the Canadiens allow the NHL’s third-most shots on goal per game this season. Crosby should be set up for a big night.

The Pick: Sidney Crosby over 3.5 shots on goal (-134)
Alex Ovechkin Future Hall of Famer Alex Ovechkin has come alive over his last eight games –- scoring at least one goal in seven of them. His Washington Capitals visit Tampa Bay on Thursday night, and they’ll be facing a Lightning team that isn’t so effective at slowing down opposing skaters. Although the Bolts’ Andrei Vasilevsky does a great job in goal and deflects a lot of shots, I can see Ovechkin finding the back of the net in this one because he’s a man on a mission right now.

The Pick: Alex Ovechkin anytime goalscorer (+140)
Robert Thomas Center Robert Thomas and the St. Louis Blues hope to capitalize on the Islanders’ defensive struggles when they host New York on Thursday. While goaltending hasn’t been a problem for the Isles this season, overall defense has. New York allows the NHL’s second-most shots on goal (35.4 per game) this season. This bodes well for Thomas, who has exceeded his current shots total in four of his last five games. The juice is high on this one, but it’s worth it if it’s going to hit.

The Pick: Robert Thomas over 1.5 shots on goal (-182)
Nazem Kadri The Bruins are coming off of an eventful Wednesday at Edmonton that provided fireworks for hockey fans. Boston beat the Oilers 6-5 in OT, but it won’t have much time to savor the win because the Bruins face another tough task Thursday at Calgary in the second game of a back-to-back set. Look for Flames center Nazem Kadri to take advantage of a tired Boston team that isn’t particularly great at limiting scoring chances (the Bruins have given up the NHL’s 10th-most shots this season). Kadri has exceeded his current prop total for shots in only two of his last five games, but with Boston on the second leg of a back-to-back, look for him to take advantage of the situation on Thursday.

The Pick: Nazem Kadri over 3.5 shots on goal (+105)

Odds are subject to change*

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