Today’s NHL Prop Picks and Best Bets: Johnston Buries the Avalanche

Prop bet #1: D'yer Makar

All three of my favorite prop plays for Sunday revolve around the final game of the slate as the Colorado Avalanche host the Dallas Stars on ESPN. Dallas has been on a tear over the past month, winning 13 of its past 16 games.

A huge part of that success has been the play of goaltender Jake Oettinger, who is slated to guard the cage once again for the Stars. Oettinger has allowed two or fewer goals in six consecutive starts, posting an absurd .955 SV% and 1.17 GAA over that stretch.

It helps his cause that he plays behind one of the best defenses in hockey. Preventing high-danger scoring chances at an elite level, Dallas ranks fourth in the league in expected goals against per 60 minutes (xGA/60) at 5-on-5.

That brings us to Cale Makar, who has been hit-or-miss against the Stars. He has failed to record a point in three of his past six games against Dallas, and it would be a profitable bet to fade him at +160 throughout that stretch.

Given Oettinger’s recent form, we will see another goose egg from Makar on Sunday.

Cale Makar prop: Under 0.5 points (+160 at Bet99 - 0.5 units)

Prop bet #2: TEASER

In addition to being a tough egg defensively at 5-on-5, this Stars team is also elite on special teams as it ranks first in penalty minutes taken per game and ninth in penalty-kill percentage.

That is bad news for Valeri Nichushkin, who has been a power-play specialist when healthy this year. Fifteen of Nichushkin’s 26 goals and 20 of 50 points have come on the man-advantage this season.

Therefore, it is not surprising that Nichushkin has generally struggled against the Stars, failing to record a point in seven of his 10 career games against them. Lastly, he enters this game in particularly poor form and has failed to record a point in three consecutive outings.

Valeri Nichushkin prop: Under 0.5 points (+140 at Bet99 - 0.5 units)

Prop bet #3: Wyatt's a straight shooter

My final player to target in this game is Dallas forward Wyatt Johnston, who has followed up his strong rookie campaign with an even better sophomore season. Not only does he lead the Stars in goals with 30, but 27 (!) have come at even strength.

That leads the team by a wide margin, but I specifically mention this stat because Colorado has done a good job all season at both staying out of the box and killing penalties when they seldom arise. At even-strength, however, it has been a different story as the Avs rank 19th in expected goals against per 60 minutes (xGA/60) at 5-on-5.

On top of that, Johnston enters this matchup in good form with four goals over his past five games. Finally, goaltender Alexandar Georgiev is slated to guard the cage for Colorado, and he has allowed four or more goals in three of his past four appearances between the pipes.

Wyatt Johnston prop: Anytime goal (+205 at Bet99)