NHL on TNT Best Bets: Penguins vs. Avalanche & Coyotes vs. Oilers Picks, Player Props (Wednesday, March 22)

The NHL on TNT features two compelling games Wednesday, which feature a number of the league's biggest superstars.

Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon will go head to head at 8 p.m. ET in Colorado, in a game with massive playoff significance as the Penguins look to keep its 16-year playoff streak alive.

Connor McDavid and the Oilers will host the lowly Coyotes in the night cap at 10:30, with a significant milestone in reach for Edmonton's star captain.

Penguins vs. Avalanche

Two seasons beyond a point per game in the Swiss A league generated some buzz over Malgin, who returned to the Leafs for the start of this season and was thought to be a strong candidate to offer some depth scoring.

Things fizzled out in Toronto as Malgin generated just four points in 23 games. In a savvy move that is looking better every day, though, Avs GM Joe Sakic took a flier on him in a deal for Dryden Hunt.

Now, Malgin has scored eight goals in his last 18 games with Colorado, which automatically makes a price of +425 interesting tonight.

Most importantly, however, is that Malgin is likely to be up on the Avalanche top line now with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen. Therefore, he's significantly more likely to produce than he was in his previous usage with Colorado.

In 4:53 seconds together against Chicago that trio played to a 100% xGF share, and Malgin broke through with two goals and an assist against the Blackhawks.

If Avs coach Jared Bednar decides to play around with the lines in the middle of the game again, Malgin does still seem to have a strong hold on a top-six spot. That means we can live with this +425 number against a Penguins team that's conceding a wealth of goals.

Another Avs player who could potentially hold strong value in the prop market Wednesday is star defender Bowen Byram, who will quarterback Colorado's dominant power play if Cale Makar remains sidelined.

Oddsmakers are likely aware that Byram's prop prices are heavily dependent on Makar's status, so they're likely waiting to post it. We may potentially have no value anyways if they are heavily adjusted.

If you can get Byram at plus money to record a point with Makar out, that would be a reasonable play.

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The shocking part about a potential playoff miss from the Pens is that Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby have both been healthy and playing at an incredibly high level.

Struggles down the forward corps on the back end and in goal have helped hide the fact that Malkin has put up 73 points in 70 games, and it's making a difference more often than not.

Malkin will likely see heavy usage if this game is close considering where we are in the season, and him playing something similar to the wildly high 23:43 played Monday against Ottawa would not be overly surprising.

In that matchup, Malkin managed four shots on goal and has averaged 2.93 per game over his last 15.

Pick: Evgeni Malkin 3+ Shots On Goal

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Coyotes vs. Oilers

Since the turn of the millennium NHL fans have been treated to only three 60-goal seasons, and Connor McDavid is poised to put up the fourth with 58 and 11 games to go.

Putting up two goals tonight at home in a nationally broadcast game would be a pretty electrifying way to do it. Considering the competition is a narrative, I am willing to tap into at +375.

McDavid has put up 12 multi-goal games in 71 contests (16.9%) in a sample of the entire season, which already makes +375 not just a complete reach.

McDavid's goal-scoring in particular has really picked up of late however. He has put up 16 goals over his last 14 games, which included a historic stretch of five consecutive multi-goal games.

Arizona has defended more effectively than you might expect, but its 3.42 goals against per game average makes it a great target for this prop, especially as the Coyotes played last night in Winnipeg. McDavid also torched the Coyotes for two goals and two assists in this season's previous meeting.

Lastly, I will note that on bet365 "Anytime" goalscorer props actually do not count overtime goals, and that phrasing it just as "regulation" would make a lot more sense and save disappointment for lots of users. You can put the number in at FanDuel, albeit at a worse number, below.

Pick: Connor McDavid 2+ Goals (+320)

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