NHL PrizePicks Today: Top NHL Player Props & Picks for April 18-19 – 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.

Not Sure How to Capitalize on TOI: Check out our PrizePicks Time On Ice 101

Not Sure How to Capitalize on TOI: Check out our PrizePicks Time On Ice 101

Playoff Notes

Before we get to the picks, a few things to keep in mind during the playoffs:

OT will not count in the playoffs. This might be a shock to those that jumped into TOI this season. But for those who've been playing it for a few years, you're used to overtime being excluded. This seems like a big change, though it shouldn't effect that many plays - or, at least, the wins and losses should balance out. Yes, I know, I complain a lot about OT and you'd think it's been a negative for me, though it probably evened out overall. This doesn't change my strategy at all. If the matchups are tight, that probably means the star players have already gone over their number. 

Things can get weird in the playoffs. When a game starts to go the wrong way, you'll often see players attempting to "send a message". What that means for us is sometime you'll have someone get a game misconduct to kill any over possibility. It seems weird as it rarely happens during the regular season, but the playoffs are different. If you have an over and your player is down a couple goals late on, there's a chance you lose him to a misconduct. I've had it happen a few times, including one two years ago where I had Drew Doughty going over and he was well ahead of pace, only to pick up a 10-minute penalty halfway through the third period. I'm not saying it's going to happen every night, though it'll come up will at some point. And hopefully, our recommendations won't be involved. 

Teams won't always go all-in to get the win. It sounds counter-intuitive, but coaches don't want to chase after a lost cause during a seven-game series. At some point, a coach must decide if it's worth going all-in to win. And if he decides it's not worth it, then the star players aren't going back on the ice to save their legs and to avoid any shenanigans that happen at the end of playoff games. 

All the above are reasons to take the less option more frequently in the postseason until you realize that the stars are generally going to receive more ice time than normal from the first two periods - and the third if the scoreline is tight. It's a balancing act, and I'll do my best to figure out where these plays are going to land each night. 

Analyzing NHL Time on Ice PrizePicks Plays

Card Overview: We're in a weird spot since we have a max of four games. And in the case of Saturday, there's only three. PrizePicks has fortunately released the lines for all eight covering Saturday and Sunday to allow us more options. 

As mentioned above, there are plenty of reasons to go with the less option. But the fact these games are so important is going to have an impact on minutes. With that in mind, you'll notice a trend below. I didn't plan it that way - it's just how I see things going. One reason why I'm taking the more a lot is that the lines haven't really adjusted from the regular season. There are some players who are just going to get additional ice time. 

We'll see how things shake out after the openers, yet I'm jumping on the overs to begin. 

BUILDING BLOCKS

Quinn Hughes 28.25 at Dallas Stars - Saturday 5:30 p.m. ET (MORE) 

Hughes has been a minutes machine all season, and there's no reason to pull back on him now. He did miss practice on Thursday due to illness. But according to all sources, he'll be ready to go Saturday. Hughes is generally script-dependent, though in the playoffs I'm guessing he'll log a lot of minutes early on. All we'll need here is a tight matchup, which should be the case in this series. Hughes often cleared his number with the help of OT during the regular season. And if Saturday goes past regulation, that means it's tight and he should be on the ice a lot.  

Cale Makar 25.5 vs. Los Angeles Kings - Sunday 3:00 p.m. ET (MORE) 

Makar was dialed back all season in what I can only assume was Colorado planning for a long playoff run. Since he didn't see his usual allotment of minutes, it makes this line seem a little high as he was often at or around 24. But prior to this season, Makar was similar to Hughes. I have a feeling if the Avs get into some close games early on, we could see this line jump in the 27 range. If the they somehow get behind, it might go much higher. Makar can skate 30 minutes if required, which I don't think will be the case on Sunday. I'm hoping LA can make this competitive for at least two periods where Makar would sail well past the number. 

Rasmus Dahlin 24 vs. Boston Bruins  - Sunday 7:30 p.m. ET (MORE) 

This is the exact same scenario as Makar, except that Buffalo didn't pull back on Dahlin's ice time all season - just over the final month when a playoff spot was secure. Dahlin is just like Hughes and Makar as he can put up monster minutes. When the Sabres had a bunch of blueline injuries last season, he was logging almost 30 minutes a night. Dahlin didn't play a lot down the stretch, though I think his legs were being reserved for the postseason. As with Makar and Hughes, a trail script all but guarantees a win here, yet a close matchup should be all we need as this line is pretty low.  

Mikhail Sergachev 25 at Vegas Golden Knights - Sunday 10:00 p.m. ET (MORE) 

I leaned into the less option on Sergachev down the stretch as he wasn't often clearing the number by a lot and Utah wasn't really playing for much. But as I followed the Mammoth matchups more closely, I realized he was receiving massive minutes regardless of the script. Considering Utah will be an underdog on Sunday and this game obviously means a lot, I see no reason Sergachev will go under. Once again, a tight matchup should be all we need here as the Mammoth has leaned heavily on their top D-line. 

SCRIPT/LINE/INJURY DEPENDENT

Lane Hutson 25.75 at Tampa Bay Lightning - Sunday 5:45 p.m. ET (MORE) 

Hutson skated a lot down the stretch after Alexandre Carrier left the lineup due to injury. And while he's supposed to be back for Sunday, fellow defender Noah Dobson could be out. Montreal showed down the stretch that it's going to lean on Hutson without its full complement of defenseman. So if Dobson can't go, then this represents a solid play. Even if fully healthy on D, Hutson could still hit this number in a trail script, so there are two ways to get there. 

Charlie McAvoy 25.75 at Buffalo Sabres - Sunday 7:30 p.m. ET (MORE) 

This pick wouldn't seem to pair well with Dahlin. But in a tight game, I could see both getting there. As for McAvoy, he sees a ton of minutes within trail scripts while Boston is a fairly decent underdog. McAvoy's playing time down the stretch was over the place, yet he's the Bruins' clear No. 1 defender who should consistently get more minutes during the playoffs.