Best NHL Playoff Prop Bets for April 22 (Connor McDavid Offers Good Value Against Kings)

There are two Western Conference series yet to begin, but first, we will see Game 2 for the Toronto Maple Leafs-Boston Bruins and New York Islanders-Carolina Hurricanes matchups. After the Eastern Conference matchups, the Vegas Golden Knights visit the Dallas Stars to begin their series, and the Edmonton Oilers host the Los Angeles Kings.

The Boston Bruins kicked off their playoffs like last year, dominating at home to win 5-1. As we know, the Bruins went on to be upset by the Florida Panthers in seven games. Bruins fans hope this doesn't happen again this year, but Maple Leafs fans still have hope after they beat the Lightning in Round 1 last season despite dropping Game 1.

The Islanders stuck around for two periods against the Hurricanes in Game 1, entering the third period tied 1-1. However, an early Stefan Noesen goal put the Hurricanes up one, then Martin Necas put the game away with an empty netter.

Let's look at some prop bets for these games, plus some value we can find in the Game 1's out West.

NHL Playoffs Prop Bets for April 22

• Connor McDavid Anytime Goal Scorer and To Record 2+ Points

• Pavel Zacha To Record 1+ Point

• Jack Eichel UNDER 3.5 Shots On Goal

Connor McDavid Anytime Goal Scorer and To Record 2+ Points

This will be the third season in a row that Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers take on the Los Angeles Kings in the postseason. McDavid won't complain, as he has plenty of success when these two teams face off.

The Oilers beat the Kings in seven games in 2022, with McDavid scoring six points over the series' first three games. After getting shutout in Game 4, McDavid had back-to-back three-point games, before another two-point performance in Game 7. He ended the series with goals in three straight.

The Oilers took care of the Kings in six games in 2022, managing to bounce back from some poor McDavid performances in the first two games. McDavid took matters into his own hands starting in Game 3, tallying three goals and six assists over the final four games to advance to the second round.

Anytime you can get McDavid to score at plus money, it's a good value bet. You can also add him to record 2+ points, as he's done that in 10 of 13 playoff games against the Kings.

Pavel Zacha To Record 1+ Point

Bruins Head Coach Jim Montgomery made a drastic move to try and kickstart a struggling powerplay. He split up David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand, giving his team a 1A/1B line rollout instead of the traditional strategy of loading up the first powerplay line. The strategy was built to support balanced scoring and healthy competition between both units.

Marchand's powerplay line scored two goals in Game 1, getting the upper hand on the battle to be considered "1A". You can believe that Pastrnak will be determined to get on the scoresheet in this game, and Pavel Zacha is a major part of his line's success.

This specifc line had many chances, including Zacha hitting two posts. Zacha, as an Anytime Goal Scorer, has some value, but he hasn't found the back of the net in eight playoff games since joining the Bruins. However, he had six assists in seven games last season.

The Bruins' depth scoring led the way in Game 1, so you can expect their big guns to come out firing in Game 2 to try and take a stranglehold on the series.

Jack Eichel UNDER 3.5 Shots On Goal

The Dallas Stars are built for a deep playoff run, but are in for a tough test in Round 1. The Golden Knights had injury troubles all season, but will miraculously ice a relatively full lineup for Game 1.

The Stars were one of the best defensive teams in the regular season and ranked seventh in shots allowed with just 28.7 per game. The Golden Knights will challenge them, but even at the height of Vegas' powers last season, Eichel wasn't hitting four shots consistently.

Eichel was injured for most of January and February, but even so, you'd have to go back to the middle of January to find a game where Eichel didn't get at least three shots.

If you look at his numbers in last year's playoffs, it may show that Eichel plays differently during the postseason. Eichel went under 3.5 Shots on Goal in 13 of 22 games last postseason, including four of six against the Stars in the Western Conference Finals.

Eichel aims for quality over quantity in the postseason, and the Stars will ensure that there isn't much quality for him to find in this series.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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