On Thursday, two teams holding commanding 2-0 series leads in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs will play on the road. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets aim to extend their advantage by facing the Ottawa Senators and St. Louis Blues, respectively, in crucial Game 3 contests.
Elsewhere, the Minnesota Wild host the Vegas Golden Knights for Game 3 of their series, currently tied at 1-1. The defending champion Florida Panthers also play Game 2 against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the `Battle of Florida`, having comfortably won the first game.
Toronto had a dominant 6-2 win over Ottawa in the opening game of the `Battle of Ontario`. However, they lost a two-goal lead in Game 2 before Max Domi secured a 3-2 overtime victory. John Tavares and defenseman Morgan Rielly have scored in both games for the Maple Leafs, who lost their only regular-season game in Ottawa this year.
The Winnipeg Jets, who won the Presidents` Trophy, came back to win Game 1 against the Blues 5-3 and narrowly took Game 2 by a 2-1 score. Kyle Connor, who led the team with eight game-winning goals in the regular season, scored the decisive goal in both playoff games against St. Louis. Winnipeg also won both times they visited St. Louis during the 2024-25 regular season.
Minnesota responded to a 4-2 loss in the first game by winning Game 2 with a 5-2 score. Matt Boldy, who scored twice in Game 1, opened the scoring in Tuesday`s game, while Kirill Kaprizov added two goals. The Wild have lost five consecutive home games against the Golden Knights, including their two meetings this regular season.
Despite only managing 17 shots in Game 1 against the Lightning, the Panthers were highly effective on the power play, scoring on all three opportunities en route to a dominant 6-2 victory. Captain Matthew Tkachuk played his first game since February 8th and made a significant impact, scoring two power-play goals and assisting on one.
Following a successful run of five best bets hitting the mark over the past three days, here are some players worth considering for an anytime goal scorer prop bet on Thursday.
Anytime Goal Scorer Best Bets
Sam Reinhart, Panthers (+225, bet365)
While Reinhart`s goal total dropped slightly in 2024-25 (39 goals, down from 57), he still led Florida. He scored twice in the final regular-season game and found the net in Game 1 against Tampa Bay, giving him three goals in four games versus the Lightning this season (including playoffs). He also scored three times against Tampa Bay in last year`s first round. Reinhart has a strong history against the Lightning with 23 goals in 44 career games (regular season and playoffs) and 22 goals in 56 total playoff appearances.
Brayden Point, Lightning (+160, DraftKings)
Point was one of the few positives for Tampa Bay in their Game 1 loss. The 29-year-old, who ranked sixth in the NHL with 42 goals, scored one of the team`s two goals. He netted three goals against the Panthers during the regular season and has seven goals in 12 career playoff games versus Florida. Overall, he has scored 43 goals in 88 career playoff games.
William Nylander, Maple Leafs (+220, FanDuel)
Nylander led Toronto with a career-high 45 goals this season, ranking second in the league and marking his third straight 40-goal season. Though he scored only once in his final six regular-season games, he scored in the Game 1 victory over Ottawa, bringing his playoff goal total to 21 in 56 games. His Game 1 goal was on the power play, where he scored 12 times this season (tied for the team lead), making him a significant threat when Ottawa takes penalties.
Matt Boldy, Wild (+210, FanDuel)
Boldy finished four goals shy of his career high but still led Minnesota with 27 goals in 2024-25. He has been Minnesota`s key offensive player in this series, scoring both goals in Game 1 and the first goal in Game 2. This means Boldy scored four consecutive goals for the Wild, including the overtime winner in their last regular-season game. Only three other Wild players have scored in the series so far, suggesting Boldy will likely have ample scoring chances on Thursday.
