For the Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres, the entire season culminates tonight with a crucial Game 7 in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. These teams will have to win or go home, with the victor heading to the Eastern Conference Final while the loser will pack its bags for an offseason vacation. After a Buffalo blowout last time these sides squared off, it’s possible the momentum has shifted as well — the question is now whether a young Montreal squad can battle back.

We went 2-for-2 on our last set of player props over the weekend, so let’s run it back! Below, we’ll take a look at the best NHL player prop bets on DraftKings Sportsbook for the playoff action on Monday.

For up-to-date NHL betting information and data, check out the DraftKings Sportsbook betting splits page and player props page!

Best NHL player prop bets for Monday 5/18/26

Tage Thompson under 3.5 shots on goal (-115)

Up until the last two games of this series, the Montreal defense mostly held up in terms of shots on goal allowed to Buffalo. Prior to Game 5, the Sabres were averaging just 26.2 shots on goal per game against the Canadiens after posting 31.7 a night in the first round. Now, they’ve looked more like their usual selves with 36 pucks on net in each of the last two outings, so take this pick with a pinch of salt. However, I still like the under on Tage Thompson’s prop line here. Why’s that? Throughout the series, the opposition has made a clear effort to deny the star excess chances when he gets the puck. Thompson is tied for the Sabres’ team lead with 41 shots on goal this postseason, but you largely wouldn’t be able to tell aside from his six-shot outing in Game 6. He’s tallied three shots on goal twice this series with games of two, one, and zero as well. That comes out to 15 total shots on goal and an average of just 2.5 per game, even with Saturday’s big night included. After staying under 3.5 attempts in five of his six games against the Canadiens, I like the under in this spot since the line feels high.

Juraj Slafkovsky over 2.5 shots on goal (-110)

Same market, same odds, but different skater on the opposite side of the line here. Yep, it’s another shots on goal prop as we take the over on 2.5 for Juraj Slafkovsky. The Canadiens’ young standout has a team-best 37 shots on goal in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, eight more attempts than the next-closest skater. That’s interesting, right? I think so, especially given his play in this series. The Slovak has just one goal in six games, but he’s put forth a total of 19 shots on goal for an average of 3.17 per outing. That mark clears the line of 2.5, but wait, there’s more. Slafkovsky has gone over 2.5 shots on goal in four of his six games against the Sabres so far with totals of three, five, and a pair of four-shot performances. The first line of he, Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki is certainly playing better now than they were coming into the series, so I’m more than comfortable taking Slafkovsky to go over 2.5 pucks on net tonight.