NHL Expert Picks: Tony Sartori’s Anytime Goalscorers Best Bets (Wednesday, April 17)

Check out Tony Sartori's NHL expert picks tonight for Wednesday, April 17 – his expert anytime goalscorer best bets.

Tonight's NHL slate is modest with just four games, but I still have three NHL anytime goalscorer picks for the evening's action.

Betting on NHL anytime goalscorers is simple enough: If your player scores a goal at any point in the game, your bet is a winner. MLB has its dingers; the NHL has its anytime goalscorers. And with both types of player props, the bets usually come with plus-money odds attached to them, so they're a favorite among all types of sports bettors.

Check out all of the analysis with my favorite anytime goalscorer predictions for tonight's NHL games below.

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NHL Expert Picks – Anytime Goalscorers Best Bets

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.

By Tony Sartori

An Atlantic Division tilt kicks off Wednesday's NHL slate with the Tampa Bay Lightning hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs. Toronto enters this contest on the second half of a back-to-back, which means we could see some particularly tired legs from this group at this stage of the campaign.

That is bad news for a team that allows high-danger scoring chances at a high rate. At 5-on-5, the Leafs rank 23rd in the league in expected goals against per 60 minutes (xGA/60).

Not only does this team struggle defensively at even-strength, but the Maple Leafs are even worse on special teams, where they rank 24th in the league in both penalty minutes taken per game and penalty kill percentage.

That bodes well for Tampa forward Steven Stamkos, who leads the team in power-play goals with 48% of his goals coming on the man-advantage this season. Stamkos enters this contest in dominant form, scoring 11 goals over his past nine games.

Pick: Steven Stamkos (+175 at ESPN BET)

By Tony Sartori

I'm risking a half-unit on Stamkos to score along with another half-unit on his teammate Brayden Point.

I am fairly confident that at least one of these two guys will find the back of the net, which would guarantee a profit. And, if both score – all the better.

I've already discussed Toronto's poor defensive play, but goaltender Martin Jones is slated to back up this blue line and could be a good fade candidate. Jones has now allowed three or more goals in seven of his past eight starts, posting a fade-worthy .870 SV% and 3.66 GAA over that stretch.

With this combination of poor defense and goaltending, it's not shocking that the Leafs rank in the bottom half of the league in goals allowed per game.

If anyone can take advantage, it is certainly Point, who has scored 20 goals over his past 26 games. Seven of those goals came on the man-advantage, which, as stated above, is likely to come into play tonight.

Eitherf Stamkos or Point has scored in 14 of the Bolts' past 15 games in which they both played. They both scored in four of those 15 outings.

Pick: Brayden Point (+150 at bet365)

By Tony Sartori

Later in the evening, the Arizona Coyotes host the Edmonton Oilers in Wednesday's NHL nightcap. Arizona profiles similarly to Toronto given that it ranks poorly in xGA/60 at 5-on-5 (24th) but is even worse on special teams, where team ranks 30th in penalty minutes taken per game and 26th in penalty kill percentage.

That is good news for Edmonton forward Leon Draisaitl, who leads the team in power-play goals with 21. Therefore, it is not surprising that Draisaitl has scored six goals over his past seven games against Arizona.

Additionally, goaltender Karel Vejmelka is slated to guard the cage for the Yotes, and he has predictably struggled to deal with the product in front of him. Through 38 appearances in the crease this season, Vejmelka is 13-19-2 with a .895 SV% and 3.35 GAA.

Pick: Leon Draisaitl (+116 at BetRivers)