NHL Awards: Can anyone catch Auston Matthews in the Rocket Richard odds?
It isn't typical to bet on which NHL player will win which end-of-the-season award at the end of December. Then again, no other player is having a season like Auston Matthews is.
The 26-year-old center is on a scoring tear through the final month of the calendar year, registering 12 goals in seven games since last being held off the scoresheet by the Ottawa Senators on Dec. 7. That kind of fire has boosted his odds at DraftKings to win the Rocket Richard Award next spring and made him the +100 favorite.
Of course, the San Ramon, CA native isn't the only player with a good chance of winning the NHL's award for leading goalscorer. But does anyone have a chance of catching him with oddsmakers?
One of the things that makes Matthews's chances of winning the Rocket Richard so favorable is that he has won the award twice before (2021 and 2022). This is probably why David Pastrnak — who won the award in 2020 — is the next favorite at DK to win the award this year at +340 odds. The flashy Boston Bruins forward has scored 20 goals on the season compared to Matthews's 28 and hasn't gone on a big streak like the Maple Leafs forward has. But you can never count Pastrnak out when it comes to scoring goals, so fans and bettors alike should keep an eye on him.
A player who hasn't previously won the award but is catching up to Matthews on the stats sheet is Nikita Kucherov, who DK lists at +600. The Tampa Bay Lightning forward has narrowly missed out on winning various NHL awards due to being injury-prone, but he is currently nipping at Matthews's heels with 23 goals scored heading into the Christmas break. Kucherov is coming off of an 82-game season, so there is a chance he could stay healthy and give Matthews a run for his money.
Of course, you can't talk about NHL goal scorers without talking about the reigning Rocket Richard winner, Connor McDavid. The Edmonton Oilers captain is listed at +900 odds to win the award again — even though he isn't currently one of the top five goal scorers in the league. Heck, he isn't even top 10! McDavid is actually ranked 55th with 12 goals scored on the season, but that could be attributed to how much he is setting up his teammates. He is fifth in the league in both assists (32) and points (44), so it's not surprising his odds of being top goal scorer come the end of the year are still good. But will the goals pick up? Bettors should wait if they want to put money down on No. 97.
In the meantime, we can hold onto our money and wait to see if Auston Matthews's goal-scoring streak continues. Things get extra interesting this week as the Leafs rematch against the same Senators team that last kept Matthews from finding the back of the net. He's the anytime goal scorer favorite at DK at -115 odds against the Sens on Wednesday.
It's certainly worth tuning in to see if he can keep this streak — and his chances of winning the Rocket Richard — alive.
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