It’s a light schedule for Scotiabank Wednesday Night Hockey and fans can look forward to a featured Eastern Conference showdown with the Toronto Maple Leafs travelling to face the Philadelphia Flyers on Sportsnet.
In Western Conference action, the Dallas Stars host the Nashville Predators while the Minnesota Wild visit the Arizona Coyotes with both games available on SN NOW Premium.
Here are some player prop bets to keep an eye on during Wednesday’s slate of games.
JVR facing former team
The Flyers are off to a solid 6-2-2 start, however veteran winger James van Riemsdyk hasn’t been quite as productive as he’d like. With just one goal through 10 games, the 32-year-old is currently scoring at a career-low goals per game pace. Can a mid-week encounter with his former team snap his slight slump?
JVR has five points this season and if he is able to add to his total against Toronto on Wednesday you can find some decent value. An anytime point for van Riemsdyk is listed at +114 whereas fading him and betting he goes scoreless is favoured at -147. His first multi-point effort of the season would pay out +438.
His anytime assist and anytime goal odds are interestingly both set at +225 even though he has four times as many assists as he does goals in 2021-22. Does that mean there’s a discrepancy here, or are the odds telling us something?
After all, van Riemsdyk only has five goals in 15 career games against the Maple Leafs – three of which occurred in the same game in 2019 – but he scored 154 goals and 294 points in 413 games with Toronto between 2012-13 and 2017-18 and it’s always interesting to monitor how a star player does against their former teams.
Should you ride Marner over Matthews?
You won’t find too much value on Auston Matthews against Philly on Wednesday. His odds to record one point are -213 chalk, and after three consecutive two-point outings prior to Monday’s loss to the Kings, his odds to record another two-point game sit at -179. That’s a heavy indication oddsmakers are expecting the reigning “Rocket” Richard winner to have a strong night – even though Matthews only has three goals and five assists in 10 career games versus the Flyers.
Mitch Marner, on the other hand, has +156 odds for a multi-point night. The winger has 12 points on his current six-game streak, so there is certainly some implied value on Marner. Two things to consider: just like Matthews, Marner has averaged less than a point per game in his career against Philadelphia, plus, his centre John Tavares is a game-time decision. No Tavares would obviously impact Marner and fellow linemate Alex Kerfoot.
BARGAIN HUNTING
There’s not always great value when betting on streaking star players or expected outcomes, which is why it can often benefit a bettor to chase value and seek out longer odds from players on slumps or those flying under the radar.
Here are a couple players in action Wednesday laying some juicy goal odds.
Alexander Radulov to score vs. Preds +250: Radulov, who, like JVR above is playing his former team, had a four-game point streak snapped Sunday but returning to Texas should give some life to a Stars team that has played eight of their first 11 games on the road. Radulov only has one goal this year and only three in 15 career games against Nashville.
Shayne Gostisbehere anytime goal +700: This is a dart-throw bet for sure, but the blueliner is the primary driver of offence for the 1-10-1 Coyotes. With points in three of his past four games, including his first goal of the season, these seven-to-one odds are high-upside -- if slightly unrealistic. Gostisbehere has three assists and zero goals in nine career games against the Wild.
All listed betting odds via Bodog as of Wednesday afternoon.
