Best NHL Prop Bets Today: Fade the Devils Without Jack Hughes

With Jack Hughes out with an injury, the New Jersey Devils will struggle to score on Friday night as they face off against Connor Hellebuyck and the Winnipeg Jets' vaunted defense. At the same time as their puck drop, we also back the Washington Capitals as their front line has the opportunity to consistently generate high-quality scoring opportunities against the Detroit Red Wings who are on the second half of a back-to-back.

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Winnipeg Jets vs. New Jersey Devils - Prop Bets (7:00 PM, EST)

New Jersey Devils Team Total Under 2.5 (+105) at BetMGM Sportsbook

After leading the league in Expected Goals For in All Situations for a majority of the year, the New Jersey Devils offense are poised to regress after it was announced Jack Hughes suffered a season-ending injury. Hughes played a major role in the Devils' success this season as the star center averaged 0.41 Expected Goals and 3.69 Shots on Goal per game. With Hughes out for the remainder of the year, the Devils are in desperate need of someone else stepping up to mask his massive loss of production.

Unfortunately for New Jersey, Winnipeg will do them no favors in their efforts of sustaining their high level of play as the Jets' back line have excelled in coverage this season. Heading into Friday, the Jets' defense ranks fifth overall in Expected Goals Against in All Situations with an average of 2.86 Expected Goals Against per game. Without Hughes, the Jets can shade their coverage towards Nico Hischier and Timo Meier while daring someone else who averages less than 0.25 Expected Goals per game to beat them.  

To make matters worse for the Devils, Connor Hellebuyck is projected to get the start for the Jets after his backup played on Thursday night. Hellebuyck has been in a tier of his own this season as the reigning Vezina Trophy winner currently averages just 2.01 Goals Against per game and a .926 Save Percentage. Should the Devils hobbled offense struggle to consistently shift Hellebuyck across the paint, then expect the star goaltender to put together a dominant performance by walling off their low-quality shot attempts.

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Kyle Connor Anytime Goalscorer (+160) at FanDuel Sportsbook

Even with Jacob Markstrom making his return from injury, the Devils goalie has not been able to halt their fall down the board in Expected Goals Against in All Situations. Their recent struggles in coverage bodes well for Kyle Connor as the Jets forward excels at creating pressure in front of the net as his high mark in Expected Goals per game indicates. Expect Connor to capitalize on the wider shooting lanes the Devils lack of coverage provides by turning his shot attempts into high-quality Shots on Goal.

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Detroit Red Wings vs. Washington Capitals - Prop Bets (7:00 PM, EST)

Washington Capitals Team Total Over 3.5 (-112) at BetRivers Sportsbook

After losing their last four games in a row, the Detroit Red Wings are in serious jeopardy of missing out on the playoffs as they are no longer in the top two in the NHL Eastern Conference wildcard standings. Their lack of defensive production from their back line has held them back from being a well rounded unit as their defense currently ranks 26th overall in Expected Goals Against in All Situations with an average of 3.36 Expected Goals per game.

With minimal support in front of him, the Red Wings starting goalie Cam Talbot will be under relentless pressure as the Capitals rank top-7 in Expected Goals For in All Situations and in 5-on-5 Play. Especially with the Capitals spreading out their playmakers throughout their lines as six players average over 0.25 Expected Goals per game. When stretched out across the ice, expect the Capitals to exploit the Red Wings' gaps in coverage to help increase the quality of their Shots on Goal and light up the scoreboard.

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Alexander Ovechkin Anytime Goalscorer (+100) at BetMGM Sportsbook

As for who will do the scoring for Washington, Alexander Ovechkin has been a consistent source of offensive production for the Capitals as the future half of famer is averaging 0.48 Expected Goals and 3.83 Shots on Goal per game. In his quest of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s career goal scoring record, expect Ovechkin to remain aggressive and consistently pressure the Red Wings back line by blitzing through their lackluster coverage.

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