Betting on a hot start for Makar, a Hart for Kucherov and 8 other NHL player props - ESPN

The NHL is set to drop the puck on the 2025-26 season on Tuesday with a tripleheader on ESPN. Ahead of the season. ESPN BET is offering futures markets that include player props for stat totals, awards, and head-to-head scoring races between players.

With the season just ahead of us and lineups taking shape, here are the player prop bets that have caught my attention.

All odds accurate as of publish time. For more, go to ESPN BET.

Looking at recent history, this is a two-horse race. There's MacKinnon, David Pastrnak, and then the field. MacKinnon's 320 (in three fewer games) vs. Pastrnak's 319 this past campaign. Nate's 405 over David's 382 the season previous. The last time the Bruins' winger beat the Avalanche center in sheer number was back in 2022-23, when the latter missed 11 games. Even then, MacKinnon's 5.15 shots/contest bested Pastrnak's rate of 4.96, playing with Patrice Bergeron. For the number, I'll side with the running favorite.

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Plain and simple, this is a wager on a player's fitness. A healthy Hughes flirts with 100 in a full season. He collected 99 in 78 games as a 21/22 year-old in 2022-23, before averaging 1.16 points/game in the past two injury-shortened campaigns. Only nine NHLers bettered that rate over the same period. Anything near 75-80 games alongside winger Jesper Bratt at even-strength, and Nico Hischier on the Devils' top power play, will result in a total above the 90-point mark. Fortunately, Hughes is fully recovered from surgery following last winter's nasty shoulder injury. I also don't mind that the 24-year-old is a