Connor McDavid and Aleksander Barkov have both been relatively quiet thus far in this series, but our NHL betting picks expect that to end tonight.
The Florida Panthers have the opportunity to take a 3-1 stranglehold in this series as they seek back-to-back Stanley Cup championships, while the Edmonton Oilers have the chance to knot things up tonight.
Which players are going to step up and score? My NHL player props believe Connor McDavid and Aleksander Barkov will be among them on Thursday, June 12.
Aleksander Barkov (+220 at BET99)
The stats might not show it, but Aleksander Barkov has been good in this series.
He made a huge play on the forecheck in Game 3, which led to Sam Reinhart’s goal to put the Panthers up 3-1. Barkov has not registered a point yet in the Stanley Cup Final, which seems kind of crazy, but is there not a better moment for him to get one than tonight?
Through the first three games, Barkov has put up 15 shot attempts, so he should be able to get some looks tonight.
Barkov’s line with Evan Rodrigues and Sam Reinhart has skated to a 67.2% expected goals percentage, which is currently the highest rate on the team. Their line also has 3.42 expected goals per 60 minutes.
With all due respect to the Edmonton Oilers, Barkov and the Florida Panthers are just too good.
Brad Marchand (+240 at BET99)
Has there been a more impactful player in this series besides Brad Marchand? He is emerging as one of the best trade deadline acquisitions in league history, given the significant contributions he has made to the Panthers throughout this postseason.
Marchand has scored a goal in all three games of this series, including the OT winner in Game 2 and the game’s first goal in Game 3. The Panthers’ third line has been the biggest X-factor throughout the entire playoffs.
Barkov’s line has a combined 50 points, the Bennett line has 51 points, and Marchand’s line has 49 points, but we’re getting inflated odds on Marchand to score.
Marchand has tallied eight goals through 20 playoff games, and his line with Eetu Luostarinen and Anton Lundell has skated to a 54.3% expected goals rate and 2.55 expected goals per 60 minutes.
Connor McDavid (+150 at BET99)
Game 3 was a rough one for Connor McDavid. He left the ice for a little bit after taking a big hit from Aaron Ekblad, but appears to be okay going into tonight’s game.
If the Oilers are going to tie this series, the best player in the world has to dominate.
McDavid only had two shot attempts in Game 3, and he would be the first person to tell you that’s not good enough. He has five assists through three games, but has 13 shots on goal and hasn’t been able to solve Sergei Bobrovsky.
One specific area of the Oilers’ game that needs to be better is their power play. Edmonton’s man-advantage has converted on only two of their last 12 attempts over the past two games of this series. The power play runs through McDavid on the strong-side flank, so he might be more aggressive in Game 4 when it comes to putting pucks on net.
This is a massive game for the Oilers captain.
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Jonny Lazarus has loved hockey for as long as he can remember. After his Division I playing career at UMass-Amherst and Mercyhurst University came to an end in 2020, he transitioned from being a player to working in the media. He might be young in his career, but he has made appearances in numerous places like the NHL, and Bleacher Report, and this season he will be doing color commentary for a selection of UMass-Amherst hockey games.
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