For the Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres, the entire season culminates tonight with a crucial Game 7 in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. These teams will have to win or go home, with the victor heading to the Eastern Conference Final while the loser will pack its bags for an offseason vacation. After a Buffalo blowout last time these sides squared off, it’s possible the momentum has shifted as well — the question is now whether a young Montreal squad can battle back.
We’re looking towards tonight’s schedule for the best anytime goal scorer picks on DraftKings Sportsbook. Follow along for betting insights, predictions and best bets for who’ll find the back of the net this evening.
For up-to-date NHL betting information and data, check out the DraftKings Sportsbook betting splits page and player props page!
Best anytime goal scorer props for Monday 5/18/26
Juraj Slafkovsky anytime goal scorer (+230)
I wrote up the over on shots on goal for Juraj Slafkovsky earlier today in my top player props piece, so what better way to cap off that pick than by taking him to score tonight as well? The 22-year-old Slovak holds the Canadiens’ team lead in shots on goal with 37 over this Stanley Cup Playoff run, an average of roughly 2.85 per game. However, he’s been more engaged during this series with 19 shots on goal, good for 3.17 per outing. Moreover, Slafkovsky has tallied at least three shots on goal in four of his six appearances against the Sabres in the postseason. We see that he’s active as a shooter, but beyond a hat trick against the Tampa Bay Lightning in round one, he has just one more goal during this playoff run, which came in Game 3 of this second-round series. With four goals on 37 attempts, a shooting percentage of 10.8%. He netted 30 goals in 82 games during the regular season while hitting at a 16.7% clip, also scoring two in four regular-season games against Buffalo. Even if he’s playing through some kind of injury, the volume and potential for positive regression on the first line alongside Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield makes Slafkovsky a great nod as a goal scorer.
Alex Tuch anytime goal scorer (+250)
I cashed my Sabres pick on Saturday as Rasmus Dahlin scored a goal at +475 odds in an 8-3 blowout, so I’m trying to recapture that mojo here on Monday. Veteran winger Alex Tuch notched 33 goals in the regular season, the second most of any Buffalo skater behind only Tage Thompson’s 40. Yet despite his obvious talent, Tuch is yet to put even one puck in the back of the net during this series. In fact, he’s actually pointless despite logging at least 19 minutes of ice time in all but one game with 21 shots on goal across the series. It sounds like he’s due, right? To that, I say yes, absolutely. Tuch scored four goals in the opening round against the Boston Bruins and his 41 shots on goal this postseason are tied for the team lead. He’s put four or more shots on the net in four of the six games of this series thus far as well. The volume is there; the payoff is not… yet. Tonight could be the night because at some point, a 9.8% shooting percentage this postseason (and 0.0% rate in the series) is bound to improve after he shot 16.9% in the regular season and 18.4% in the year prior.
