The league’s best player highlights Sunday’s NHL goal scorer picks.
The pregame narrative: In terms of scoring goals, Connor McDavid is off to a slow start, but I expect a superstar performance against a Canadian rival. Before that, look for Jason Robertson to take advantage of the Nashville Predators’ subpar defence.
Check out my NHL anytime goal picks for Oct. 26.
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NHL anytime goal picks
Best Bet: McDavid to score 1+ goals (+140)
McDavid is a pass-first player, as indicated by his one goal and 10 assists through nine games.
But he’s still an elite goal scorer too, and the single tally is because of bad luck and not poor play.
- McDavid is tied with Leon Draisaitl for the most shots by an Edmonton Oilers forward (25).
- The problem is his 4.0% shooting percentage. For context, he has never had a shooting percentage below 12.0% over an entire season.
Some regression to the mean is coming, and it feels like there’s always fireworks when the Oilers play the Vancouver Canucks.
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Vancouver is a below-average team in terms of goals allowed and shots allowed, and it owns the 11th-worst penalty kill.
That is a formula for disaster when playing McDavid, Draisaitl and Co.
This is the right matchup for the Oilers’ captain to get on the score sheet.
Key stat: McDavid has 24 goals and 45 assists in 43 career regular-season games vs. the Canucks.
NHL predictions
Robertson to score 1+ goals (+148): Every time I write about Robertson, it amazes me to see that he’s a point-per-game player in his NHL career.
Not many finish their career with that feat, so it showcases how good the Dallas Stars forward is, and he hasn’t even hit his prime (26 years old).
A lot of that production comes from scoring. Robertson has 35+ goals in three of the past four seasons.
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He only has three so far this year, but he has recorded a whopping 35 shots, and his 8.6% shooting rate is going to improve.
Finally, he has a great matchup. The Predators allow 30+ shots per game and are expected to start backup goalie Justus Annunen (5.08 GAA, .808 SV%).
NHL anytime goal picks made at 9:24 a.m. ET on 10/26/2025.
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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.