Check out our NHL anytime goalscorer picks for the big 11-game hockey slate on Thursday night.
Our hockey experts have identified six players from five different games who have big potential to score a goal tonight. You can tail their best bets and watch all of the action on ESPN+ beginning at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT).
For newer NHL bettors, a bet on an anytime goal is pretty simple: If your player scores a goal at any point during the game, you win. Because these bets often come with juicy odds, they're a favorite among NHL bettors.
Hockey fans can also bet on which player will score the first and the last goal of a game. However, for this feature, we're focused solely on "anytime" goalscorers.
Check out all of the anytime picks for tonight's NHL games below.
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NHL Best Bets – Anytime Goalscorers
The team logos in the table below represent each of the matchups that our NHL betting staff is targeting from today's slate of games. Click on the team logos for any of the matchups below to navigate to a specific bet discussed in this article.
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 7 p.m. | |
  | 7 p.m. | |
  | 7 p.m. | |
  | 10:30 p.m. | |
  | 10:30 p.m. | |
| 10:30 p.m. | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our NHL Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | ||
Stars vs. Blue Jackets
By Tony Sartori
The Stars are in a good position to rebound following two tough losses to the Vancouver Canucks and the Boston Bruins as they now go against a defensively weak Blue Jackets team.
At 5-on-5, Columbus ranks 27th in the league in expected goals against per 60 minutes. Backing up this poor blue line is goaltender Spencer Martin, who is a prime regression candidate entering this matchup.
Through five appearances in the crease this season, Martin owns a .928 SV% and 2.62 GAA, which is likely unsustainable for a guy who owns a career-.890 SV% in the NHL.
A big point of emphasis this week for Dallas was improving its power play, which is scoring at just a 9.7% clip and ranks 29th in the league. Specifically, the team is looking to be more aggressive on the power play, and more aggressiveness leads to more chances net-front.
And that is exactly where Joe Pavelski makes a living on the power play, whether it be on a tipped shot or cleaning up a rebound. Even if Pavelski doesn't notch one on special teams, he is always a threat to score at 5-on-5 as he skates on the first line alongside the playmaking Roope Hintz and equally dangerous Jason Robertson.
Pavelski has been one of the few guys on the Stars this year who has not gotten off to a slow start offensively, posting five goals, which is tied for the team lead.
Pick: Joe Pavelski (+185)
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Canadiens vs. Red Wings
By Greg Liodice
Has anyone seen Alex DeBrincat? In his last six games, the star winger has posted just one assist. Oddly enough, it’s right around the time when the Detroit Red Wings started losing hockey games.
We’ve seen DeBrincat do some amazing things in his first few games as a Wing, including scoring eight goals in the first six games of the season with three multi-goal games. And yet, the scoresheet has been dryer than the Sahara.
The chances are there for Debrincat. He leads the team in high danger chances, he's fourth in scoring chances for, and he's fifth in expected goals.
In my betting preview for Red Wings vs. Canadiens, I detailed how Montreal is fairly vulnerable. Its defense is weak, the penalty kill is terrible, and the goaltending situation isn’t exactly ideal.
Pair that with Detroit’s 25% power play, and it could be the perfect opportunity for DeBrincat to get on the board. After a 0-6 showing on the power play on Tuesday, I’d expect Detroit to right its wrongs tonight.
DeBrincat is a huge part of the man advantage, always ready to blast a one-timer or dangle through the zone. At +145, I’d say there’s a good chance he ends the drought tonight.
Pick: Alex DeBrincat (+145)
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Wild vs. Rangers
By Ryan Dadoun
The New York Rangers are expected to miss Filip Chytil (upper body), Adam Fox (lower body) and possibly goaltenders Jonathan Quick (upper body) and Igor Shesterkin (lower body) for Thursday’s contest against Minnesota. On the plus side, they still have Artemi Panarin, who’s supplied seven goals and 20 points through 12 contests this season.
Panarin has recorded at least a point in every game this campaign, and from a goal-scoring perspective, he’s only been getting hotter, providing four tallies over his last five outings. What’s remarkable is his shooting percentage of 15.9 isn’t that much higher than it was in 2022-23 (14.2), so it doesn’t look horribly unsustainable.
Panarin’s simply firing the puck far more than he used to – an average of 3.67 shots per game, up from 2.49 in 2022-23. That’s a big jump, but it's also a potentially maintainable pace. In fact, 17 players have dished out more shots than Panarin this season.
It hasn’t just been a matter of quantity either. He’s in the 82 percentile in high-danger shots and 99 in mid-range after finishing 2022-23 in the 70 percentile in high-danger shots and 97 in mid-range. It can’t hurt either that his average shot speed is at 60.10 mph now, up from 51.43 last year.
This is all to say that Panarin might really push past the 40-goal milestone for the first time in his career. Even if that doesn’t end up being the case, though, he is still a hot scorer up against a team that ranks 30th defensively with 4.00 goals allowed per game, which makes him as good a pick as any to score tonight.
Pick: Artemi Panarin (+200)
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Penguins vs. Kings
By Grant White
Evgeni Malkin is turning back the clock with his early season performances.
The Pittsburgh Penguins forward has sniped seven goals through his first 11 games of the season; it's a total we expect him to improve on against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night.
Malkin has some appealing analytics working in his favor.
At 5-on-5, the three-time Stanley Cup winner has a 54.1% high-danger chance rating, improving to 57.4% in scoring opportunities. Factoring in his time on the power play, those metrics jump to 62.9% and 67.9%, respectively.
Although he may not be able to sustain his 19.4% shooting percentage throughout the year, Malkin has the metrics backing up sustained production early on.
We're backing him as an anytime goal scorer on Thursday night.
Pick: Evgeni Malkin (+210)
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Oilers vs. Sharks
By Carol Schram
After a career-high 64 goals last season, Connor McDavid has just two goals so far this year, and none in his last six games. He also missed two games with a vaguely defined upper-body injury before returning for the outdoor Heritage Classic on Oct. 29, so whatever ailed him could still be lingering.
In their 6-2 loss in Vancouver on Monday, McDavid and company came out of the gate like they’d been shot out of a cannon, but they couldn’t sustain that early momentum.
The Oilers had their rookie dinner in Vancouver on Tuesday – a perfect opportunity to blow off some steam.
Last season, the odds attached to a McDavid anytime goal made it barely worth betting. The slump that he and his team are in makes the line more attractive to bettors — and McDavid is simply too good to stay this quiet for much longer. He has been getting chances with 11 shots in his last three games.
Both teams have a lot riding on Thursday’s game, but it’s the Sharks that are swimming at the bottom of the standings, with a league-worst 4.58 goals allowed per game this year. And the oddsmakers are heavily favoring Edmonton to win with implied odds of 75% or better.
Look for McDavid to exploit the Sharks’ porous defense and get on the scoresheet while starting to shift the narrative around his underperforming group.
Pick: Connor McDavid (-115)
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Oilers vs. Sharks
The Oilers take on a Sharks team that has displayed perhaps the worst defensive form in history to start the season.
As a result, their implied team total is the highest on the slate, as you would expect. Oddsmakers have not moved Edmonton's anytime goalscorer prices as much as I would have expected, and sprinkling a few different guys is a sound strategy.
Evander Kane started an excellent spell of play with a great performance in the Heritage Classic. He has clearly raised his level after a slow start to the season, and he's been rewarded with two goals and six points over the last four. His 1.55 xGF/60 ranks third on the Oilers.
Kane, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Sam Gagner have been surprisingly dominant together on a newly formed line at even strength that owns a 71.4% expected goals rating.
Pick: Evander Kane (+165)
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