Zibanejad to extend assist streak vs. Capitals

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We were unable to build Wednesday's 4-0 card, going 1-2 with our best bets Thursday night.

Victor Hedman came through with an assist, but Bo Horvat fell a shot short versus the Hurricanes while Brayden Point missed the net on all nine of his attempts. The volume was there, but the results weren't.

Let's dive into the best ways to attack Friday's four-game slate as we look to get back in the profit zone.

Mika Zibanejad: Over 0.5 assists

Zibanejad is one of the NHL's hottest playmakers. He's picked up an assist in eight consecutive games and nine of the past 10 overall.

He has an elite finisher (Chris Kreider) on his line at even strength and plenty of weapons surrounding him on the power play. While you may think of Zibanejad hammering one-timers as the go-to guy on the man advantage, Artemi Panarin recorded nine more shot attempts and five more scoring chances than Zibanejad over the final 10 games of the regular season.

Zibanejad is more than happy to defer to Panarin or Kreider if the shooting lanes aren't there, which is leading to plenty of assist opportunities.

He's likely to see a lot of the Alex Ovechkin line at five-on-five. That unit is not great defensively, especially when centered by Connor McMichael.

I think Zibanejad's line will control the run of play at full strength. Also, again, he touches the puck a ton while on the man advantage. Heck, he's even proven to be dangerous on the penalty kill.

Win or lose, the Rangers should be able to score their share of goals in this game. Expect one to be created by Zibanejad's stick.

Odds: -110 (playable to -125)

Kevin Fiala: Over 2.5 shots

Adrian Kempe is the ultimate Oilers killer, but Fiala isn't far behind. Fiala has gone over his shot total in 10 of the past 14 games against Edmonton. He's been especially dominant at home, soaring over the number in five of six games while averaging 3.7 shots on target per contest.

Fiala was all over the ice in the first two games of the series. He recorded eight-plus shot attempts in both games on the road, and that translated to back-to-back three-plus shot performances.

Fiala should play almost exclusively against Edmonton's depth lines in L.A. He also skates on the top power-play unit, where he's tied with Kempe for the team lead in attempts in this series.

Odds: -122 (playable to -140)

Evan Bouchard: Over 0.5 assists

Bouchard is most productive when playing in Edmonton, but he's worth backing in any building. He's piled up 30 assists over his past 30 games, which isn't all that surprising given he's an ultra-gifted puck-mover who usually shares the ice with Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, or both.

Bouchard has a very strong history against the Kings, averaging 1.2 assists per game over the past three seasons. He hasn't been remotely hampered when playing on the road.

Bouchard has recorded at least one assist in five of the past six games in Los Angeles and averaged 1.5 in that span.

The Oilers have shown the ability to score goals in bunches versus the Kings. I think they're the much better team and expect them to regain the series lead Friday. If that's the case, Bouchard will likely get in on the action.

Odds: -115 (playable to -140)

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on X at @ToddCordell.