NHL best bets: Great time for a little puck luck

We split our bets last night, and now with NHL dominating the day, it seems only fitting we hunker down with some hockey today. We won't lie, it feels weird to not have the NFL on this Thursday night. Would you believe it's already Week 18? We'll get to all of that in tomorrow's Bark Bets. Let's break down some NHL bets to help power us toward a successful weekend of sports betting.

Parsing through some puck props with this parlay play

Do note that by all means you could move these players down a number and play them straight. We've kind of just had a week devoid of an exciting bet and want to mix it up with a parlay spot to get the juices flowing. Go lighter on this than you would a standard play!

Leg No. 1: Dylan Cozens (Buffalo) 4+ shots (+185)

The Sabres are facing a Montreal team allowing 34 shots per game at home over the past month, particularly vulnerable to shots from centers, allowing the third-most in the league across the last 10 games. 

In waltzes Buffalo's second-line center Dylan Cozens, who has decided that his new favorite thing is going to be shooting the puck. He has tallied six SOG in two straight games and has 7+ attempts in three straight. OK, let's follow that. Cozens has finished with 4+ shots in two of his past four against Montreal.

Leg No. 2: Chris Kreider (NY Rangers) 4+ shots (+178)

The Rangers should dictate the pace here hosting Chicago, the Blackhawks are allowing 35.3 shots per game and 5.7 goals per game as the visitor in the last 30 days. Kreider is our preference to capitalize. He has 4+ shots in three of his last five at home and has tallied six shots in two of his past three meetings with Chicago.

Leg No. 3: Travis Konecny (Philadelphia) 4+ shots (+130)

Philly is finally back home and should be able to get the puck on net against a Columbus team allowing the most shots per game on the road over the past month. Konecny has 4+ shots in four straight home games and three of the last five games against the Blue Jackets.

If parlayed, that comes in at a clean +1722 on FanDuel. By all means, play these guys straight or round robin the three. We're putting a few bucks on all three delivering for a fun Thursday sweat. Enjoy!

In the news ...

Pro Bowl rosters announced — The Pro Bowl rosters for the NFC and AFC have been announced, and it's the San Francisco 49ers leading the way with nine players selected. Dallas and Baltimore each had seven players chosen, and Philadelphia followed that up with six of its own. The QBs for both conferences certainly represent some of the league's best teams, with Tua Tagovailoa, Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, Brock Purdy, Dak Prescott and Matthew Stafford representing the group. Some of the more notable snubs include Detroit WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, who is fifth in yards and TDs and second in receptions.

Baker Mayfield non-committal as to his availability for must-win game on Sunday — Mayfield didn't give a ringing endorsement of his health, making it clear that he's trying to play through what sounds like a painful rib injury. Mayfield suffered the injury during Tampa's Week 17 loss to New Orleans, and the Bucs will certainly need their QB for Sunday against Carolina. The Bucs are win-and-get-in, with a loss eliminating them from playoff contention. The spread has dipped down a full point in favor of Carolina, with the Panthers priced now as 4.5-point underdogs and +190 on the moneyline.

Minnesota Wild place Kirill Kaprizov and Jared Spurgeon on IR — Minnesota's injury-plagued season continues, placing their captain Jared Spurgeon and leader in points Kirill Kaprizov on IR Wednesday. The Wild head into a difficult slate of games and figure to dip further down the Western Conference standings with their slew of injuries. Minnesota is -165 to miss the playoffs.

Today's Bark Bets is written by Griffin Carroll. Follow him on Substack: griffybets.substack.com.