Top NHL GIFT & Anytime Goal Scorer Prop Bet Picks: Sunday (1/21)
Betting the GIFT (Goal In First Ten) is simple. Pick whether or not a game will have a goal scored in the first 10 minutes of play (00:00-09:59). It's that easy and all you have to do is root for anyone to score and you win. It is one area of hockey betting that has a nearly league-wide positive success rate with 93.75% of the league currently cashing at 50% or better this season. I have been able to use this season’s GIFT numbers to pick winners with extreme accuracy. Tail me for cash, fade me for trash!
For additional prop bets check out our brand new daily NHL Prop Bet Cheat Sheet. Additionally, I will post my favorite bets in the BettingPros Discord, which is free to join and filled with info from some of the sharpest analysts in the field, including myself.
Sunday’s Best GIFT & Anytime Goal Scorer Prop Bets
2023-24 Season: 67-17 (.797) | Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook
Ottawa Senators at Philadelphia Flyers
Ottawa has cashed GIFTs at an NHL-leading 73% rate overall and their road strike rate is an incredible 94%. GIFTs away from Canadian Tire Centre account for 16 of their 30 GIFTs overall. The Sens have cashed in four of their last five games and ten of their last 12 overall. As if Ottawa road GIFTs couldn’t be prettier, Mads Sogaard, along with his 6.00 GAA and 0.818 SV%, is expected to man the crease for the Sens
Philadelphia’s 54% (25-for-46) season GIFT strike rate may be tied for 23rd in the NHL, but they have cashed at a 59% clip on home at Wells Fargo Center. The Flyers did cash this prop on Saturday in a 7-4 loss. Carter Hart allowed five goals on 15 shots just yesterday and backup Samuel Ersson is expected in goal this afternoon. Ersson allowed a goal on nine shot attempts in relief of Hart.
Getting -160 odds for an Ottawa road GIFT that has routinely hovered around -200 since early December is added value.
Pick: Goal In First Ten (-160)
Toronto Maple Leafs at Seattle Kraken
The Leafs have cashed in three of their last five games and at a 59% clip on the season. Toronto has also cashed GIFTs at a 56% rate away from Scotiabank Arena this season. They may have the 15th-ranked GIFT cash rate but their 154 first-period goals are 7th most in the NHL this season. Ilya Samsonov is expected in goal for the Leafs and his 3.88 GAA and 0.863 save percentage bode well for the GIFT to cash.
The Kraken have cashed this prop in 66% of their games this season, good for 5th in the league. They have been even better at home, cashing at an NHL-leading 80% clip at Climate Change Arena. The Kraken have cashed this prop in four of their last five and eight of ten overall.
Pick: Goal In First Ten (-150)
Minnesota Wild at Carolina Hurricanes
The Wild’s 71% GIFT rate is second only to the aforementioned Senators. Their 32 GIFTs on the season are tied with Tampa Bay for the NHL lead. Suffice it to say, the Wild are wild about GIFTs. Minnesota has cashed in four of their last five.
The Hurricanes have cashed GIFTs in 65% of their games this season, good for the 6th-highest rate in the league. Their home numbers have been more of a coin toss with a 47% cash rate, but they have still cashed this prop 10 times this season at PNC Arena. The Canes have cashed this prop in eight of their last ten overall.
This game is also expected to feature a matchup between Filip Gustavsson (3.36 GAA, 0.892 SV%) and Antti Raanta (3.21 GAA, 0.868 SV%). Both of these goalies have numbers that favor GIFT cashing as well.
Pick: Goal In First Ten (-145)
GIFT Parlay Odds: +357
Anytime Goal Scorer Picks
Roope Hintz (+170) – 5G in L7, scored twice last night @ New Jersey (Roope’s always good for a sprinkle on First Goal Scorer (+1000))
Dylan Larkin (+165) – G+ in 3 of L4, 5G in L6, 1+ point in L6 (emphasis on scoring adjacency)
Sebastian Aho (+135) – G last game, has scored in 14 games this season and nine of his 16 goals have come from two-game goal streaks.
Auston Matthews (-110) – 7G in L7, Hat trick on Thursday, 10 points in L7 (scoring adjacency)
AGS Parlay Odds: +3109
Make sure to check out our other best bets for Sunday:
- NFL Divisional Round Betting Primer & Expert Picks (Sunday)
- NFL Sunday Same Game Parlays Odds, Picks & Predictions (Divisional Round)
- Top 3 NFL Player Prop Bet Odds & Picks: Divisional Round (Sunday)
- Top NBA Odds, Picks & Predictions
- Top NHL Odds, Picks & Predictions
Luke Monaldo is a featured writer at BettingPros. Follow him on Twitter @MoKnowsSports and Discord @alydar1227 AKA The GIFTing Crooner. For more from Luke, check out his archive.