NHL prop picks February 21: Count on Vegas’ Shea Theodore to make an impact

The NHL is serving up a beefy nine-game slate on Tuesday evening, which is excellent news for prop bettors.

The pregame narrative: Shea Theodore has consistently put points on the board for the Vegas Golden Knights, Elias Pettersson keeps finding the back of the net and multi-point outings have become routine for Jack Hughes.

Find all our best NHL props picks for February 21 below.

NHL odds as of 9:56 a.m. ET on 02/21/2023.

NHL prop picks

Best Bet: Shea Theodore to score a point (-136)

There’s some juice here, but Theodore has managed a point in a higher percentage of his games (58.8%) than the implied probability on the line (57.6%).

He’s also especially likely to put together a strong offensive performance against a Chicago Blackhawks team that is a mess.

The Blackhawks allow the sixth-most goals in the NHL (3.62/game) and according to FantasySP, only two teams concede more points to defencemen.

We’re also encouraged by Theordore’s recent run of play.

The veteran defenceman has produced 12 points in his last 12 games, going point-less in just four. He’s been especially hot more recently with six points in his last three contests — including his first three-point effort of the season on Saturday.

Theodore’s team is also producing well around him, increasing the chances his puck distribution will result in assists. The Golden Knights have averaged 4.80 goals per game since the beginning of February — the second-highest total in the NHL.

Key stat: Theodore has a point in 10 of his last 15 games.

Quick picks

Petterson anytime goal (+150): The Vancouver Canucks’ leading point producer has been on a goal-scoring tear, lighting the lamp eight times in his last eight games.

While some of that can be explained by simple variance, the departure of Bo Horvat has opened up additional ice time for him. Petterson has averaged 21:05 since the star left town, a notable uptick from the 19:51 he was skating before.

He will also benefit from playing a Nashville Predators team that has played porous defence recently. The Predators have allowed 3.67 goals per game since the beginning of February, which is the sixth-highest total in the NHL.

Hughes to score 2+ points (+112): Multi-point outings have been relatively frequent for Hughes this season as he’s put two points on the scoreboard in 44.4% of his games.

But he’s taking his production to a new level recently, posting two points or more in six of his last seven appearances — and 12 of his last 17.

We like Hughes to keep rolling against an unimpressive Montreal Canadiens team that allows the fourth-most goals in the NHL (3.66) and allows the sixth-most points to centres.