NHL PrizePicks Today: Top NHL Player Props & Picks for April 2 – Best Plays

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Note: Time on Ice projections and picks can change frequently throughout the day due to injuries and changes to line combinations, especially power-play lines. I encourage readers to check the comments section below for any last-minute updates prior to puck drop.

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Analyzing NHL Time on Ice PrizePicks Plays

Card Overview: It was a rough night for picks Tuesday, and I think I know what happened. The problem was more with my process than anything else. I let the urgency of some teams to make the playoffs creep into my process, and while it's okay to let that be a piece to the puzzle, it shouldn't be the main factor. 

As you probably noticed, I went from taking mainly the "Less" option to taking mostly the "More" option, and that was due to the situation of the teams, not necessarily the players' situations within the teams, which is always most important. 

I'm not going to completely abandon the "playoff" pieceof this puzzle, but I won't be leaning on it quite as much Thursday. Some coaches have seemed hesitant to play their best players even when needing a victory, as was the case Tuesday. 

Thursday's card looks pretty good, but it's not that deep. My favorite plays of the ones below are Werenski, Hutson and Heiskanen. 

BUILDING BLOCKS

Zach Werenski 28 at Carolina Hurricanes  - 7:00 p.m. ET (MORE) 

Werenski's line jumped from 27.5 to 28.25 on Tuesday, and I was not fond of that move, but I still thought he would make it. He came up just short, but the reason for that was an unusually high amount of penalty kill time for the Blue Jackets. Werenski is not currently on the PK, and Columbus defensemen put in around 17 minutes of PK time Tuesday. This is one simple, limit the penalties, keep the game close and Werenski goes over. Werenski played 23.5 minutes of even-strength time Tuesday. If Columbus stays out of the box Thursday, we could be looking at 30 minutes from Werenski. 

Lane Hutson 24 vs. New York Rangers - 7:00 p.m. ET (MORE) 

This is an interesting situation. Prior to Tuesday, Huston was on a long run of going under on his number. In fact, he hadn't cracked 22 minutes in his previous four games. Granted, those were all wins, and Hutson has always been heavily reliant on script, but still, he was getting nowhere near his number for a long stretch. That all changed on Tuesday as he put in over 26 minutes in a positive script. The reason was the absence of Alexandre Carrier, who was putting in over 19 minutes on the ice each night. That left a big hole, and Montreal decided Tuesday that Hutson would fill that hole. With that in mind, there are two ways to get this Thursday. The first is that Montreal again decides to load up Hutson, which is preferred, while the second is a negative script, which is possible since the Rangers are playing well ahead of Thursday's game. 

Travis Sanheim 24.75 vs. Detroit Red Wings - 7:00 p.m. ET (LESS) 

I'm always hesitant to switch from more to less on a player, but I think there's a good reason to do so here. Sanheim looked like a great over as recently as this past weekend, but he inexplicably had his time pulled back Sunday, and it didn't really return as expected Tuesday. Part of the reason is that Sanheim is no longer on the power play. The other reason is that, using my theory of every other game between the first two defensive pairs, it's Jamie Drysdale's turn for more minutes Thursday. I'm not certain that's what the Flyers are doing, but over the past three games, it appears as though they are going back and forth, putting the heavy load on one of the first two pairs. 

Miro Heiskanen 25.25 vs. Winnipeg Jets - 8:00 p.m. ET (LESS) 

With their playoff spot all but locked in, the Stars have decided to pull back Heiskanen's minutes over the past few weeks. I haven't heard a declaration confirming this, but just looking at the past two games, where the Stars were trailing for large parts, he was right at or under 25 minutes. This from a player who regularly put in 27-28 minutes in a trail script. This gives us a little wiggle room if the Stars come out slowly. If they do what they're supposed to and get out to a lead, then there's no reason Heiskanen should come close to this number. 

Noah Hanifin 20.75 vs. Calgary Flames  - 10:00 p.m. ET (MORE) 

I've been on the less option with Hanifin a lot lately, but that was largely due to his pairing with Jeremy Lauzon. It now appears as though he's back with Rasmus Andersson, which should lead to a lot more even strength minutes. Hopefully we can avoid the special teams Thursday, as Hanifin is not on the power play and is only on the second PK unit. Also, it would help if this game stays tight. Vegas is likely making the playoffs, but they definitely want to avoid the final wild-card spot, which would mean a first-round matchup with Colorado, so I'd imagine they'd want their best two defensive lines out there more often. The coaching change throws a twist in here, but I think that'll work in our favor Thursday. 

SCRIPT/LINE/INJURY DEPENDENT

Evan Bouchard 24.5 vs. Chicago Blackhawks 9:00 p.m. ET (LESS) 

Bouchard came through for me Tuesday as the Oilers got out to an early lead and never looked back. Bouchard is always a risky play because if the Oilers get behind, he's almost guaranteed to go over, but they've been on a roll lately, winning four in a row entering Thursday's game. The Oilers are big favorites again Thursday, so hopefully they start fast (preferably with some even-strength goals) and hold the lead for a period or two.