The 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs continue on Wednesday with three games. Two home teams aim to take 2-0 series leads, while a crucial Game 3 takes place in a Western Conference series. The Washington Capitals and Los Angeles Kings hope to solidify their positions as they host the Montreal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers, respectively. Meanwhile, the Colorado Avalanche return home to face the Dallas Stars after splitting the first two games in Texas.
Washington, the Eastern Conference`s top seed, lost a two-goal lead in the third period of their series opener against Montreal, but Alex Ovechkin scored his first career playoff overtime goal to give the Capitals a 3-2 victory. Los Angeles also allowed a three-goal advantage to slip away in the third period of Game 1 against Edmonton but secured a 6-5 win thanks to Phillip Danault`s second goal, scored with 42 seconds left in regulation.
Colorado, who easily won the first game 5-1, was just 10 minutes away from a 2-0 series lead when the Stars tied the game 3-3 with a goal by Evgenii Dadonov. Colin Blackwell, a healthy scratch in Game 1 who received the least ice time of any player on either team on Monday, scored at 17:46 of overtime to tie the series for Dallas.
After four `best bets` resulted in goals over the previous two days, here are some players worth considering for anytime goal scorer prop bets on Wednesday.
Best Bets
Alex Ovechkin, Capitals
Ovechkin has been in great form, chasing Wayne Gretzky`s all-time goal record. He scored 22 of his 44 regular-season goals in his final 31 games, including eight in his last nine. The three-time Hart Trophy winner and 2018 Conn Smythe Trophy recipient continued his streak in Game 1 against the Canadiens, opening the scoring with a power-play goal in the first period before netting the overtime winner. This gave him seven goals in eight career playoff games against Montreal. At this point, it`s hard to imagine the 39-year-old not scoring, so expect him to keep climbing the NHL`s all-time playoff goals list. Before Wednesday, he was tied for 13th place with Joe Pavelski (74 goals) and trailed Mario Lemieux (12th place) by two goals.
Cole Caufield, Canadiens
Caufield led Montreal in goals during the regular season, setting a personal best (37 goals), and scored one of the team`s two goals in Game 1. The 24-year-old right winger tends to score in streaks: in the 2024-25 season, he scored in two consecutive games six times, and in five of those instances, the streaks were three games or longer. Caufield also scored in each of the Canadiens` three regular-season meetings with the Capitals and has nine goals in 12 career contests against Washington, including the series opener.
Roope Hintz, Stars
Hintz has scored just two goals in his last nine playoff games, both coming against the Avalanche. One of them was Dallas` only goal in the series opener, which ended the 28-year-old center`s seven-game scoring drought to end the regular season. Hintz has failed to score in six consecutive playoff road games, so one might say he`s due.
Leon Draisaitl, Oilers
It`s almost a certainty that Draisaitl will score in a playoff game against the Kings. Including Game 1 of this series, the 29-year-old has scored 18 goals in 19 career playoff contests versus Los Angeles – all in the last four years. By comparison, Draisaitl has scored 24 goals in his other 56 playoff games. He`s been hot lately regardless of the opponent, scoring 18 goals in his last 22 overall games and seven in the past eight.
