Thursday was another great night for our player props. Alex Pietrangelo, Noah Dobson, and David Pastrnak all came through for us as we swept the board outright.

Let's dive into three plays that stand out on Friday night as we look to stay hot.

Alex Ovechkin over 4.5 shots (-110)

Ovechkin is firing on all cylinders right now, particularly on home ice. The superstar winger has amassed 83 shot attempts and 51 shots on target over his last 10 games in Washington.

Unsurprisingly, such a high volume of attempts is leading to consistency in the prop market. Ovechkin has gone over his total in six of the last eight home games.

Now Ovechkin finds himself with a plus matchup against the Nashville Predators. They have given up a lot of shots to left wingers this season and can be exploited by volume shooters at that position. We saw that first-hand last night when Andrei Svechnikov (8), Max Pacioretty (6), and Teuvo Tervainen (4) all piled up the shots while soaring past their goals.

I don't expect the Predators to allow anywhere close to the same volume as last night (67), but they have been struggling with suppression for a while. Only the Anaheim Ducks have conceded five-on-five shots at a higher rate over the last 10 games. The Predators are also a highly mediocre penalty killing team when it comes to preventing shots; Ovechkin should get plenty of looks there.

Seth Jones over 2.5 shots (-105)

Seth Jones is on somewhat of a shooting heater. He has registered three shots or more in seven of his last 10 games and six of seven on home ice. He is not putting up otherworldly numbers but is consistently doing enough to have success. Jones has attempted at least five shots in nine of his last 10 in Chicago. He's giving himself a legitimate chance of hitting every single night.

I don't see that changing against the Arizona Coyotes. While they have done a better job of preventing shots of late, they give up an awful lot to opposing defensemen. In fact, only the Ducks and Columbus Blue Jackets have allowed more shots per game to the position this season.

Jones plays a ton of minutes, the matchup is enticing, and Arizona finds itself in the latter half of a road back-to-back. This is a good spot for Jones to produce.

Timo Meier over 4.5 shots (-110)

Meier appears to be turning a bit of a corner. He has recorded four shots or more in eight of the last nine games and attempted at least seven shots in seven of those contests.

The attempt volume is where it needs to be to hit a line like this with any consistency, as is his usage. Meier is routinely logging more than 20 minutes per night.

That's a big part of what makes him such an attractive play against the Ducks. They bleed shots and are arguably the worst defensive team in the NHL. If a shooter like Meier is going to see that kind of ice time in a good spot, he's going to come through more often than not.

Although Meier is better in San Jose, he has averaged 7.3 attempts per game on the road this season. He is generating more than enough to back him away from home ice.

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.

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Now that the calendar has flipped to 2023, the Hart Trophy race is really heating up.

The leading MVP candidate is playing like a man possessed, even by his lofty standards. But the intrigue arises when considering who the other finalists should be. Some impact players, like Tage Thompson and Sidney Crosby, might've cracked the list if not for those with stronger cases - or in the example of the former, if his team were more firmly in the playoff hunt.

Here are our top five Hart contenders as we near the second half of this NHL campaign:

5. Jason Robertson

Robertson remains an MVP contender, but the Dallas Stars youngster has fallen back down to Earth a bit since we last evaluated the race. The 23-year-old posted over a point per game in that span, but he's scored only three goals in his last 12 games.

The California-born winger still boasts elite underlying numbers, as only one other player on this list has a better expected goals for percentage at five-on-five in 2022-23. Robertson ranks among the league leaders in both that category and scoring chances for percentage this season.

He's still outpacing his teammates by a large margin, too. He's collected seven more goals and 11 more points than Roope Hintz, who ranks second on the team in both categories. Robertson has scored 73% of his goals at even strength, and he sits among the NHL's top producers in both that category and even-strength points.

However, since reeling off an 18-game point streak from late October to early December, he's primarily been a distributor, registering just three tallies and 11 helpers over his last 15 contests. He's one of the main reasons the Stars sit atop the Central Division, but he'll need to raise his game to get back into the mix for serious Hart consideration.

4. David Pastrnak

Pastrnak was higher on this list in previous editions, but this slight downgrade isn't by much fault of his own. The Boston Bruins superstar is still producing at an elite clip, with nine goals and seven assists in the 13 games since our last edition of these rankings.

The Czech winger has notched 11 more goals and 19 more points than his closest teammate. Linus Ullmark's utter excellence in goal and the fact that they play for the league's best team hurt Pastrnak's case to a degree, but there's no denying the skilled forward belongs in the conversation.

Strong analytic figures further cement him as a fringe Hart candidate. The Bruins have significantly outplayed the opposition when he's been on the ice at five-on-five this season, boasting stellar xGF and SCF percentages in those situations.

If the pending unrestricted free agent sustains his average ice time, he'd set a career high, and only Boston's two best defensemen are getting more burn than Pastrnak among Bruins skaters in 2022-23.

3. Jack Hughes

Hughes makes his first appearance of the season on this list, and it's certainly warranted. Others have more goals and points than the New Jersey Devils center, but the Hart Trophy is supposed to reward value first and foremost. Hughes possesses some truly absurd underlying numbers this season and has been the brightest star for a team that's exceeding expectations.

For starters, Hughes leads the NHL in both wins above replacement and goals above replacement. That's impressive on its own, but he also ranks fourth in the league in xGF% and fifth in SCF% at five-on-five among those who've played at least 350 minutes in those situations.

Hughes has outproduced all other Devils skaters with six more goals and seven more points than his closest teammate. He's also been on fire lately, scoring 17 of his goals in his last 19 games. Plus, he's doing all this at 21 years old. New Jersey had high hopes for Hughes after drafting him first overall in 2019, and the Florida-born pivot is now proving to be one of the NHL's most valuable players in his fourth season.

2. Mikko Rantanen

The Colorado Avalanche have been riddled with injuries this season and might've been outside the playoff picture without Rantanen, who's kept the defending champions afloat and then some. The Finn was huge in Nathan MacKinnon's absence, racking up nine goals and four assists in the 11 games the Avalanche played without their most dynamic forward.

Rantanen has been on an absolute tear recently, collecting 11 goals and five assists in the 13 contests since our last edition. He also leads all NHL forwards (yes, even the Hart favorite) in average ice time this season. Colorado has leaned heavily on Rantanen, and that's unlikely to change with the club still missing captain Gabriel Landeskog, Valeri Nichushkin, Josh Manson, Bo Byram, and Pavel Francouz, among others.

The Avalanche have an effective power play as usual, but Rantanen's doing the vast majority of his damage at even strength. The 26-year-old tops the NHL with 21 goals in those situations, meaning he's buried a whopping 85% of his tallies under more difficult circumstances.

No other Colorado player has even hit double figures in goals this season, and Rantanen has at least a 12-point edge over every one of his teammates. That's partly due to the injuries, of course, but it still illustrates how critical he's been to keeping the Avalanche competitive. The club has lost five straight games, but don't blame Rantanen, who's registered three goals and three assists during the skid.

1. Connor McDavid

We frequently say the MVP race isn't primarily about points, but when someone's lighting up the league the way McDavid is, anything but the top spot would just be wrong.

McDavid must've seen Robertson's 18-game point streak and said, "Hold my beverage." The Edmonton Oilers captain put together a 17-game run from late November to late December in which he amassed 16 goals and 21 assists for more than two points per contest. He leads the league in goals and assists, and he has a simply bonkers 15-point cushion in the Art Ross Trophy race.

Another development in McDavid's favor is his improved underlying numbers. The otherworldly superstar's analytic figures were favorable but not spectacular in our last edition on Dec. 9. But he's raised both his five-on-five xGF% and SCF% since then, which means his club is controlling an even larger share of the expected goals and scoring chances than it was before.

The Oilers occupy fifth place in Pacific Division by points percentage, but they're in the postseason hunt as they have been for most of the campaign. McDavid typically deserves serious consideration if Edmonton is anywhere near the playoff picture, and that's no different this time around - especially considering how much more valuable he's been than any other NHLer in 2022-23.

(Analytics sources: Natural Stat Trick, Evolving Hockey)

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New Jersey Devils head coach Lindy Ruff didn't mince words while discussing the performance of his top defenseman Dougie Hamilton after Thursday night's 5-3 loss to the St. Louis Blues.

"I didn't like his game. It's not good enough for our team to win. You can't get scored against," Ruff said postgame. "I keep telling the team, if you want to play more, you can't get scored against. If you're a young player and want to play, don't get scored against.

"So, obviously I thought he could have been better."

Hamilton picked up an assist but posted a minus-three rating and took a pair of minor penalties while logging a team-high 24:51 in the contest. The 6-foot-6 blue-liner, who's recorded 34 points in 39 games and a plus-14 rating on the campaign, signed a seven-year, $63-million contract with the Devils as a free agent in the 2021 offseason.

But New Jersey's highest-paid player wasn't the only target of Ruff's criticism. With Ondrej Palat returning to the lineup, the bench boss explained the decision to make rookie forward Fabian Zetterlund a healthy scratch.

"Look at the numbers. It's got to be better than that," Ruff said. "If you're not producing, then you better be hitting. If you're not doing either one, then you've got to bring something to the table.

"Look at what (Alexander Holtz) brought the night before, he deserved to stay in. (Zetterlund) needs to bring more. You've either got to produce, or you've got to be a guy that the other team hates playing against."

Zetterlund was getting some early Calder Trophy consideration after popping off for 13 points in his first 20 games this season. However, he's tallied just a lone assist in the 13 contests since, collecting 10 hits in that span.

The Devils have come crashing down to earth after a torrid start, going 3-8-2 in their last 13 games.

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Philadelphia Flyers head coach John Tortorella bluntly voiced his displeasure with the NHL All-Star Weekend when asked about forward Travis Konecny's omission from the rosters unveiled Thursday.

"The whole weekend, I don't even watch it. … I don't give a shit," he told The Philadelphia Inquirer's Giana Han following the Flyers' 6-2 win against the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night.

Konecny is in the midst of a career year with 20 goals and 20 assists in 33 games this season. However, Kevin Hayes will be the Flyers' representative at the festivities.

Hayes, who racked up 10 goals and 25 assists in 38 contests, said the All-Star nod is an achievement his late brother Jimmy always wanted for him.

"It could have been a few guys in the room. It’s nice to get the selection," he said. "My brother wanted it for me, but I never thought it would happen. My family’s excited."

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Juuse Saros was a busy, busy man on Thursday night.

The Nashville Predators goalie made a stunning 64 saves during his side's 5-3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes, good for a new franchise record and a tie for third in stops made during a single game in NHL history.

Here's how his performance stands in the Predators' record books:

And here's how Saros' gargantuan effort stacks up in league history:

*Only includes goalies who debuted in 1955-56 or later

If you exclude overtime, Saros is now tied for the second-most saves made by a goaltender in regulation, behind only Lessard.

Saros stopped all 28 shots he faced in the third period alone.

The Hurricanes joined the history books in their own right during the loss: Their 67 shots on goal in the contest tied for the fourth most in a single game in NHL history:

*Tracked since 1959-60

Heading into Thursday's contest, Saros, 27, owned a .915 save percentage and 2.76 goals against average in 28 appearances on the campaign.

The Finnish product was named a finalist for the Vezina Trophy last season.

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Dylan Guenther scored the golden goal as Canada won the World Junior Hockey Championship for the second year in a row, defeating Czechia 3-2 in overtime in Thursday's gold-medal game.

Canada got its revenge on the Czechs after losing to them 5-2 to open the tournament on Boxing Day.

This is the first time any country has gone back-to-back at the tournament since Canada won five years in a row from 2005 to 2009. Canada has now won the tournament five times in the last nine years and 20 times overall.

Czechia hasn't won the tournament since 2001, but a silver medal is still the nation's best result since that year.

The OT winner marked the second of the game for Guenther, the Arizona Coyotes' 2021 ninth-overall pick. He opened the scoring with a bar-down rocket from the left half wall on the power play.

Captain Shane Wright doubled Canada's lead in the second period, undressing a Czech defender before ripping home a lethal backhand into the top corner.

Canada held on to the 2-0 lead up until the latter half of the third period when Jiri Kulich and Jakub Kos scored 54 seconds apart to even things up for Czechia and send the game to overtime.

The goaltenders were stellar in the contest. Tomas Suchanek made 35 saves for the Czechs despite looking shaken up after Canada's Caedan Baniker ran him over in the second period, while Thomas Milic turned aside 24 shots for Canada. Both netminders are undrafted.

Canada will look to make it a three-peat next year in Sweden.

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Max Pacioretty is set to make his Carolina Hurricanes debut Thursday against the Nashville Predators.

The 34-year-old forward sustained a torn Achilles in August, an injury that has kept him out of all 38 games this season. He was limited to 39 games in 2021-22 due to a broken foot and broken wrist but managed to tally 19 goals and 37 points when he was in the Vegas Golden Knights' lineup.

Vegas traded Pacioretty and his $7-million cap hit to the Hurricanes in July, along with defenseman Dylan Coghlan, for future considerations.

Carolina leads the Metropolitan Division with a 25-7-6 record. Its 11-game win streak was snapped Tuesday by the New York Rangers.

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Wednesday was a great one for our best bets as we swept the board. Despite a surprise start from Brian Elliott, our under of 6.5 goals in Minnesota came through. We also hit both player props.

We'll look to keep the ball moving in the right direction with a pair of sides for Thursday's slate.

Capitals (-200) @ Blue Jackets (+170)

The Washington Capitals are on a roll. They have won seven of the last 10 games and collected at least a point in nine of them.

Their underlying process in that time has been strong, as they slot seventh with an expected goal share above 55% at five-on-five. They are always dangerous on the power play - and the goaltending is potent - so the Capitals are evidently an extremely difficult team to deal with when getting the job done at full-strength.

We have every reason to believe they can deliver Thursday night in Columbus. For one, T.J. Oshie is expected to return and skate alongside Marcus Johansson and Lars Eller on the third line. His presence makes that unit a lot more formidable, giving the Capitals three lines with legitimate scoring threats. He'll give a strong power play an extra little boost.

The Blue Jackets are not a good five-on-five team, especially defensively. Only the Anaheim Ducks have given up Grade A chances at a higher clip than the Blue Jackets.

That's not ideal for a team scheduled to start Elvis Merzlikins. Among all goaltenders with at least 10 appearances this season, Merzlikins ranks last in Goals Saved Above Expected (minus-18) and GSAE per start (minus-1.531).

Joonas Korpisalo is a plus in both categories while dealing with the exact same playing circumstances. Thus, it is fair to say Merzlikins is making a bad Blue Jackets team even worse.

Given the level of play we have seen from the Jackets this season, all the injuries they're dealing with, and the fact a strong Capitals team is starting to get healthy, I expect the latter to take care of business with relative ease inside 60 minutes.

Bet: Capitals in regulation (-130)

Penguins (+105) @ Golden Knights (-120)

Things are not looking good for the Pittsburgh Penguins right now. They have struggled defensively for a few weeks and it has really started to catch up to them. The Pens have dropped five consecutive games, giving up at least four goals in four of them.

With Jeff Petry (injury) and Kris Letang (personal) sidelined, their blue line is having a very difficult time holding up. Given as much, the Penguins are more reliant on goaltending than they generally have been in the past. That's why the recent injury to Tristan Jarry is even more troublesome.

Now the Penguins have to try and right the ship against a very good Vegas Golden Knights team.

Despite dealing with a ton of injuries all season long, the Golden Knights lead the Pacific Division and enter play in strong form.

They own a 6-3-1 record over the last 10 games and have controlled better than 59% of the high-danger chances at five-on-five. That slots them third in the NHL.

The Penguins have posted a 45% high-danger chance share over the same period and rank near the bottom of the NHL. Their poor share stems mostly from struggles preventing Grade A chances.

The imminent return of Jack Eichel won't make life any easier for Pittsburgh. He leads the Golden Knights in points per game and average Game Score. He is by far the team's most threatening weapon.

Eichel's return will provide some much needed firepower to the lineup and give Vegas more depth at the center position, which will come in handy going up against the likes of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

I think the Golden Knights are underpriced in this spot at home against a vulnerable Penguins side.

Bet: Golden Knights (-120)

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.

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