For tonight's NHL slate we have eight games on tap, which means plenty of options for player props! There are plenty of different ways to approach props but I have selected two of my favorites from the Tampa Bay Lightning and Colorado Avalanche. The season is still young so we will be relying heavily on statistics from last year combined with trends that develop this season.

 

NHL Underdog Fantasy Top Picks October 17

Brayden Point, Tampa Bay Lightning - LOWER than 3.5 Shots

Brayden Point may be coming off the best season of his career with an impressive 51 goals, but he has never really been a high-volume shooter. Last season he registered a career-high 235 shots in 82 games, or 2.8 shots per game. Across the entire season, he went under 3.5 shots 68% of the time, only going over in 26 games. Through three games this season, Point has four shots on goal and has one or fewer in the last two games. Buffalo did allow the 7th most shots on goal last season, but based on what I've seen from Point so far this year, I like the under here.

Valeri Nichushkin, Colorado Avalanche - HIGHER than 2.5 shots

Valeri Nichushkin may not skate with Nathan MacKinnon but he holds down Colorado's second line and second power play unit. Granted he is seeing less ice time than last season but he still likes to shoot the puck. Across his last two seasons, he is averaging 2.9 shots per game and went over 2.5 shots in 58% of his games last season. Seattle allowed the second-fewest shots in the league last year but Valeri went over in two of three meetings and Colorado shoots more than any other team.