There are four playoff games on Tuesday and I have two goalscorer picks for the action.
The pregame narrative: The Toronto Maple Leafs look to build on their 6-2 win in Game 1 and I believe John Tavares has value on his goalscorer prop. I’ll also take a shot on Jake Guentzel to score against the Florida Panthers.
Check out my NHL anytime goal picks for April 22.
NHL anytime goal picks
Best Bet: Guentzel to score 1+ goal (+185)
Guentzel ranked seventh in the NHL in scoring this season, with 41 goals in his first season with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
He scored seven goals in the final 10 games, so it feels like he’s coming into this series hot.
Guentzel is also quite a strong playoff performer. He has 38 goals in 69 career postseason games.
His team finished the season with the best offence in hockey. Tampa led the league with 3.56 goals per game.
Florida enters the playoffs as the defending champion, but things are different this year.
The Panthers looked strong for the first half of the season but dealt with absences to key players like Matthew Tkachuk and Aaron Ekblad down the stretch.
They finished the season losing seven of their last 10 games, allowing 2.9 goals per game over that stretch. That included a 5-1 loss to the Lightning in a game in which Guentzel scored.
Key stat: The winger has a point in all four games against Florida this season and went 2-2 against this line.
NHL prop prediction: Back Tavares to score
Tavares to score a goal (+205): Tavares had a great season, scoring 38 goals in 75 games. He finished the year on a tear, recording points in 11 of the final 15 games. That involved 10 goals.
He carried the momentum into the playoffs and grabbed one of Toronto’s six goals in the opening game against the Ottawa Senators.
The centreman also mustered six shots and an assist on William Nylander’s power-play goal.
Ottawa is ranked around the middle of the pack in terms of goals against per game (2.83) and got punished on Sunday for six goals.
Toronto went 3-for-6 on the power play, where Tavares plays in front of the net. If the Sens are undisciplined again, he could bang another in with the man advantage.
Either way, I love the value here for the former captain.
NHL anytime goal picks made at 9:27 a.m. ET on 04/22/2025.
Spencer is a true sports junkie. A graduate of the Sports Journalism program at Centennial College, he first joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2023. He is now a contributing writer. He loves finding the edge to bet on in all sports but has a deep passion for the NBA and UFC. Previous stops include Sportsnet.