The first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs continues Wednesday with three games. Two home teams aim for 2-0 series leads, and a crucial Game 3 is set for a Western Conference matchup. The Washington Capitals host the Montreal Canadiens and the Los Angeles Kings host the Edmonton Oilers, both looking to solidify their control. The Colorado Avalanche are back home to face the Dallas Stars after splitting the first two games in Texas.
Washington, the Eastern Conference`s top seed, let a two-goal third-period lead slip in Game 1 against Montreal before Alex Ovechkin`s first career playoff overtime goal secured a 3-2 victory. In the Western Conference, Los Angeles also saw a three-goal third-period advantage vanish against Edmonton in Game 1 but ultimately won 6-5 thanks to Phillip Danault`s second goal of the night with 42 seconds remaining.
Colorado easily won their opener 5-1 and was close to a 2-0 series lead, only for Evgenii Dadonov`s goal to tie the game 3-3 with 10 minutes left. Colin Blackwell, who didn`t play in Game 1 and had the least ice time in Game 2, scored at 17:46 of overtime to even the series for Dallas.
Following four successful anytime goal scorer picks in the last two days, here are some players offering good value for prop bets on Wednesday.
Best Anytime Goal Scorer Bets
Alex Ovechkin, Capitals: Ovechkin has been on fire, especially recently, scoring 22 of his 44 regular-season goals in the final 31 games, including eight in the last nine. The decorated veteran (three-time Hart, 2018 Conn Smythe) continued this trend in Game 1 against the Canadiens, scoring a power-play goal to open the scoring and the overtime winner. He now has seven goals in eight career playoff games against Montreal. Given his current form, it`s highly likely he`ll add to his playoff goal total. He`s currently tied for 13th all-time with Joe Pavelski (74 goals) and just two behind Mario Lemieux for 12th.
Cole Caufield, Canadiens: Caufield led Montreal with a career-high 37 goals in the regular season and scored one of their two goals in Game 1. The 24-year-old forward often scores in streaks, with six instances of scoring in back-to-back games in 2024-25, five of which extended to three or more games. He also scored in all three regular-season meetings with Washington and has a total of nine goals in 12 career games against the Capitals, including the recent series opener.
Roope Hintz, Stars: Hintz has only scored twice in his last nine playoff games, both against the Avalanche. One of these was Dallas`s only goal in Game 1, breaking a seven-game drought dating back to the end of the regular season. He hasn`t scored in six consecutive playoff road games, which might suggest he`s due for a goal.
Leon Draisaitl, Oilers: It seems almost certain Draisaitl will score when facing the Kings in the playoffs. Including the current series opener, the 29-year-old has an impressive 18 goals in 19 career postseason games against Los Angeles over the past four years. In comparison, he has 24 goals in his other 56 playoff games combined. He`s also been hot overall, scoring 18 goals in his last 22 games and seven in his last eight.
