NHL Player Props Today: Anytime Goalscorer Picks & Best Bets (Oct. 1)
By Michael Schwartz in NHL Hockey
Published:
- Thursday’s eight-game NHL slate offers a range of player props and anytime goalscorer markets
- Opening-game results add a fresh angle to familiar scoring and shooting options
- Compare three NHL prop picks and their prices before puck drop
Thursday’s eight-game NHL slate offers plenty of player prop options, with three different matchups on my card. Philadelphia visits New Jersey, Chicago travels to Utah and Edmonton looks to avenge their opening night defeat in a rematch against Vancouver. The card mixes two shots-on-goal markets with one anytime-goalscorer play.
It is still early enough that one game dominates a player’s season average, so don’t let those numbers get in the way of your decision. I’m weighing those opening results against pregame shot projections and established scoring production, rather than treating a quiet first night as a lasting trend.
Below are my NHL player props and anytime goalscorer picks, with the prices available across NHL betting apps providing a useful point of comparison. The mix includes different prices and winning conditions, so the cheapest-looking line is not automatically the best value.
NHL Player Props & Anytime Goalscorer Picks Today
Odds from bet365 as of September 30. A 2+ shots bet requires at least two shots on goal; blocked and missed attempts do not count.
Matvei Michkov 2+ Shots on Goal
- Pick: Matvei Michkov 2+ shots on goal (-135 at bet365)
Sportradar’s pregame projection for Michkov is 2.3 shots against New Jersey, which puts the Philadelphia winger above the two-shot threshold. That is the central case for the bet as the projected output clears the line without requiring a goal or point.
Michkov recorded one shot in his first game, so the current-season sample does not yet show him reaching this number. But in a season with 84 games, treat that as a small data point, not as a reason to discard the higher pregame projection.
The -135 price is more demanding than a plus-money shot prop, but it is far less severe than Anton Frondell’s number on this card. I like Michkov as the more balanced shots selection because the projection is above two, while the price still leaves room for a competitive wager rather than requiring an extreme hit rate.
Anton Frondell 2+ Shots on Goal
- Pick: Anton Frondell 2+ shots on goal (-340 at bet365)
Sportradar projects Frondell for 2.5 shots against Utah, which is slightly above Michkov’s 2.3-shot estimate. Since the bet needs only two shots on goal, the projection points toward the over, but the price must remain the focus rather than getting carried away by the raw number.
Frondell had one shot in his opening game, and like Michkov that is just one early season sample to go by and does not establish a long-term pattern. The projection offers a forward-looking estimate, while the opener is simply the first piece of actual evidence.
At -340, this is a high-price favorite and therefore requires a very high hit rate to justify the cost. I would not oversell it as a standalone bargain. Its appeal comes from the 2.5-shot projection and the low two-shot requirement, but the steep number leaves little margin if the market is being used in a larger betting card.
Connor McDavid Anytime Goalscorer
- Pick: Connor McDavid anytime goalscorer (+105 at bet365)
McDavid’s prior-season baseline is elite with 48 goals, 90 assists and 138 points in 82 games during 2025-26. Those are completed-season numbers, so they provide broader context rather than a claim about what must happen in this specific October 1 game.
The current-season opener against Vancouver showed McDavid’s playmaking impact. Edmonton lost 6-5 in overtime on Wednesday, but McDavid recorded two assists. The Oilers also generated 37 shots, compared with 23 for Vancouver, giving the rematch an appealing offensive backdrop.
The +105 price makes McDavid the card’s clearest plus-money scoring option. His prior-season goal total supports the anytime angle, while the two assists in the opener show that he was already heavily involved against Vancouver. The distinction matters, though as assists and team shot volume create context, not a guarantee of a goal.
