NHL bets: Getting creative with a pair of plays tonight

We swept our two plays yesterday on the ice thanks to following playoff motivation. Today, we have to get more creative, as most of these games mean close to nothing for the postseason race. We've found our path in the NHL market tonight with two more looks, good luck if you join the ride!

Toronto-Tampa Bay over 1.5 goals in first period (-136 Fanatics)

I used a 10% boost on Fanatics to get this at the best price, otherwise you can find it at -140 on Caesars and -142 on FanDuel.

This game really doesn't mean anything, with the lone reason to pay attention being a pair of milestones. Auston Matthews is still sitting on 69 goals, and Nikita Kucherov is on 99 assists. One more each for both of them would be a massive accomplishment, and while I could simply parlay those two props hitting, I'm going a bit different with this first-period over.

Neither team or coach has to want to run these guys deep into these games, so perhaps they get them out early to try and hit their statistical marks and then tuck them away into safety. In such a situation, you could expect a fast and loose opening frame, and thus, we've arrived at this bet.

Toronto is 44-37 this season towards the first-period over, and Tampa Bay is an even better 49-30-2. Thanks to some playoff matchups, these two have met 23 times since the start of the 2021 season. The first period over is 16-7 in those meetings.

I considered both teams to score at plus-money, but I'm opting for a safer route on this read.

Logan Cooley over 0.5 points (+114 DraftKings)

Tonight is going to be an emotional one at Mullett Arena, as the Coyotes play their last game in Arizona before their relocation to Utah. I love Arizona to win, and off that belief, I want to load up some point props.

One such name that quickly popped up for value is Logan Cooley, centering Arizona's second line. Cooley just scored against Edmonton five days ago and has piled up six points in his last four at home.

As I considered the emotions of tonight, I was drawn to whoever has been with Arizona the longest. Their longest tenured player is Lawson Crouse, who so happens to be on Cooley's line. There is no Crouse point line, so I connect the dots back to Cooley.

His other linemate, Dylan Guenther, also caught my eye, thanks to points in six of his last eight at home and six in his last three overall. Guenther is -120 for a point, while we nab Cooley at plus-money. Sign me up.

Others to consider include Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz, and Guenther, all of whom operate on Arizona's top power play. Edmonton has been handing out a lot of penalties on the road lately and struggling to stop PP scoring once they get into such situations.