NHL Picks Tonight: Tony Sartori’s 3 Best Bets for Anytime Goalscorers (Friday, March 8)
Sam Hodde/Getty. Pictured: Wyatt Johnston #53 of the Dallas Stars
Check out Tony Sartori's NHL picks tonight for Wednesday, March 8 – his expert predictions for anytime goalscorers.
For tonight's four-game NHL slate, which includes an NHL Network feature at 9 p.m. ET (6 p.m. PT), I'm targetting three players for my NHL anytime goalscorer picks.
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.
(NHL bettors: Be sure to use our FanDuel promo code to get the most out of your hockey action tonight!)
NHL Picks Tonight – 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) | Anytime Scorer |
|---|---|---|
| 9 p.m. | ||
| 10 p.m. | ||
| 10 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. | ||
Wild vs. Avalanche
By Tony Sartori
A Central Division tilt kicks off Friday's four-game NHL slate with the Colorado Avalanche hosting the Minnesota Wild. Oddsmakers are expecting a high-scoring outing, and the total is set at 6.5 across the board.
This thinking certainly fits Colorado's style of play, considering the Avalanche are all systems go offensively and thrive in a fast-paced, high-scoring environment. Making matters worse for Minnesota is that it is on the second half of a road back-to-back, and tired legs could be disastrous against this Avs offense.
Defense is already an issue for the Wild, considering they rank 23rd in the league in goals allowed per game and 19th in shots on goal allowed per game. Goaltending has been a big problem for them all year, and since they are on the second half of a back-to-back, they will turn to Filip Gustavsson to start between the pipes.
Through 37 appearances in the crease this season, Gustavsson possesses a fade-worthy .892 SV% and 3.30 GAA.
That brings me us to Colorado forward Mikko Rantanen, who should be a great candidate to back on Friday for an anytime goal.
Rantanen has been a goal-scoring machine all season, ranking second on the team in both goals and power-play goals. I mention special teams specifically because Minnesota ranks 28th or lower in both penalty minutes taken per game and penalty kill percentage.
Rantanen is a threat to score at even-strength, but he is also a massive threat on special teams, where I ultimately believe he will find the back of the net in this game.
Pick: Mikko Rantanen (+120 at FanDuel, 1 unit)
Stars vs. Ducks
By Tony Sartori
Later in the evening, the Anaheim Ducks host the Dallas Stars in another game that is anticipated to be a high-scoring affair. The total is set at 6.5 across the board. The main reason is that Anaheim couldn't stop a leaky faucet.
Bleeding high-danger scoring chances at a high rate, the Ducks rank 27th in expected goals against per 60 minutes (xGA/60) at 5-on-5. Backing up this poor defense is goaltender John Gibson, who is projected to start between the pipes on Friday.
Through 39 appearances in net this year, Gibson is 13-20-2 with a .898 SV% and 3.15 GAA. With this combination of bad defensive play and a goaltender who has struggled to deal with that, it is not shocking that the Ducks rank 26th or lower in goals allowed per game, shots on goal allowed per game, penalty kill percentage and penalty minutes taken per game.
Speaking of special teams woes, Joe Pavelski should be a great candidate to back in this contest as he leads Dallas in power-play goals this year, a unit that is the ninth-best in the league.
Even if he doesn't convert on special teams, Pavelski is still more than capable of scoring at even-strength because he skates alongside Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz on the first line.
Pick: Joe Pavelski (+185 at FanDuel, 0.5 unit)
Stars vs. Ducks
By Tony Sartori
I am risking a half-unit on Pavelski to score along with another half-unit on his teammate, Wyatt Johnston. My thinking here is that I am fairly confident that at least one of these two guys will find the back of the net, which guarantees a profit. And, if both score, then all the better.
Both guys can score at even-strength, ranking third and fourth on the team in goals this season. These two forwards can also score on the power play, which is important to note in this matchup due as Anaheim ranks last in penalty minutes taken per game and 27th in penalty kill percentage.
Additionally, Pavelski and Johnston skate on different power-play units, so we will possess the benefit of always having one of them out there during the man advantage. At least one of these two guys has scored in two of Dallas' past three games.
Finally, Johnston is coming off a hat trick performance against San Jose, so why not ride the hot hand?
Pick: Wyatt Johnston (+200 at FanDuel, 0.5 unit)
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