Game 1 between the Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs turned into an offensive explosion with the two sides combining for nine goals and eight different scorers.
Let’s hope for more of the same as we hunt for goals with NHL picks for Wednesday, May 7.
NHL anytime goalscorer picks for Panthers vs Maple Leafs Game 2
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Matthews (+140) -
Reinhart (+180) - Lundell (+500)
Panthers vs Maple Leafs anytime goalscorer props for tonight
Auston Matthews (+140 at Sports Interaction)
Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews was much more productive on home ice this season. He scored in only 38% of his road games compared to a healthy 50% hit rate at Scotiabank. He was especially effective at home down the stretch, scoring 12 times over the final 20 games.
He didn’t find twine in the series opener against the Florida Panthers but had a ton of opportunities. Matthews led all players with 11 shot attempts and six scoring chances despite playing from ahead — and taking fewer chances offensively — for much of the game.
Matthews had several great looks against Sergei Bobrovsky and also missed empty-net attempts, something you wouldn’t generally expect from Matthews.
While Matthews isn’t having his best finishing campaign, production tends to follow when he’s generating such strong shots and scoring chance numbers.
Sam Reinhart (+180 at Sports Interaction)
Sam Reinhart has upped his shot volume of late. He averaged 5.4 attempts per game during the regular season but has generated at least seven in three straight playoff games, piling up 26 along the way.
He is one of the best finishers in the sport, so seeing this kind of volume from him is a sign that goals should soon follow.
Working in Reinhart’s favor is the unfortunate absence of Toronto starting goaltender Anthony Stolarz. Backup Joseph Woll posted much worse numbers during the regular season and was a little vulnerable after being thrown into the fire in Game 1.
Reinhart logged more than 22 minutes in the series opener and recorded strong shot volume. Don’t be surprised if that kind of workload translates to a goal in Game 2.
Anton Lundell (+500 at Sports Interaction)
Anton Lundell often matched up against the Scott Laughton line in Game 1. The Panthers won the shot attempt battle 11-1 and out-scored the Leafs 2-0 when Lundell was on the ice in that matchup. Suffice it to say that Florida’s third-line center convincingly won the battle.
Toronto’s forward depth — or lack thereof — has been a talking point all season long and for good reason. It’s a problem and one Lundell and a loaded Panthers third line will continue taking advantage of.
Lundell ranked tied for fifth on the Panthers in expected goals in Game 1 (he had a couple of good shooting opportunities that missed the net) and recorded at least five shots on goal in the two games prior. He’s constantly threatening against the Maple Leafs.
At such a juicy price point, it’s worth taking a flier on the underrated two-way pivot.
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