On Tuesday night, professional hockey makes its return as the puck drops on the 2025-26 NHL regular season. There are three games on deck including Panthers vs. Blackhawks, Rangers vs. Penguins, and Kings vs. Avalanche, so some of the league’s brightest stars — young and old alike — all don the pads and sweaters of their respective franchises. Sam Reinhart, Connor Bedard, Igor Shesterkin, Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon and Anze Kopitar… what’s not to love about our beautiful game?
With three matchups across the evening, we’re taking a look at the top NHL player props to consider on DraftKings Sportsbook for the first day of the new campaign.
Best NHL prop bets
Sam Bennett 4+ shots on goal (+135)
The Panthers are without Aleksander Barkov for the year and won’t have Matthew Tkachuk healthy for quite some time either. Sound like a nightmare start for the back-to-back champs? Well, it is, but this team still rosters enough depth to make up for it and remain afloat. Sam Bennett won the Conn Smythe a few months back and now steps up as the first-line center for Florida. Last time we saw him play, he posted a playoff heater with 22 points in 23 games, including a staggering 15 goals. He’s in line for a massive role to start the campaign and remains one of the most aggressive players on this team. Bennett averaged over three shots per game last season, so expect him to come out firing with plenty of attempts on goal to open the year in a featured role.
Igor Shesterkin over 23.5 saves (-125)
One of the best goaltenders in the game, Igor Shesterkin sees the chance to rebound in a big way after a disappointing 2024-25. Even in a career-worst season, he still tallied a .904 SV% and averaged 26 saves a night. He should emerge from the offseason focused and ready to bounce back, and an opening-night matchup with the Penguins is a great opportunity to do so. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin will still get shots up, so this line feels just a little too low, especially if the Rangers’ blue line needs some time to adjust with some new faces and former Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan now at the helm.
Gabriel Landeskog 1+ points (+110)
This may be an interesting pick here, but what better way to ring in the new season than with a point or two for Gabriel Landeskog? The Avalanche captain made his triumphant return from a multi-year injury absence back in the playoffs, and with a full offseason period as well as training camp under his belt, he’s now several more months removed from the long layoff. Colorado’s got a deep lineup and plenty of players here can find the net, including Landeskog’s second-line pairings. At plus odds, it’s worth taking a small swing for the captain to kick off his first regular season back in action with a bang.
