It should be a really entertaining Stanley Cup Finals starting on Saturday as Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers visit the Florida Panthers, who look for their first-ever Cup title after losing in the 2023 Finals.
The Panthers are favored for Game 1 and the series on the NHL odds.
| Stanley Cup Pick Panthers -140, Oilers +120 (total 5.5) Score Prediction Florida 4, Edmonton 2 |
Edmonton Oilers Betting Line +109
The Oilers reached their first Stanley Cup Final in nearly two decades with a 2-1 win over Dallas in Game 6 of the West Finals on Sunday – Edmonton closed that series winning three straight games. Superstar Connor McDavid scored a goal and added an assist to reach his first-ever Stanley Cup Final.
Both of McDavid’s points came on the power play in the first period. He dazzled with his handiwork through the Stars’ defense on the opening tally 4:17 into the game before setting up Zach Hyman later in the first. After somewhat taking a backseat to Leon Draisaitl in the first two rounds, McDavid exploded with three goals and seven helpers in the Western Conference Finals.
McDavid recorded his sixth career playoff series with at least 10 points. The only others with as many 10-point series are Wayne Gretzky (21), Mark Messier (8), Denis Savard (7) and Mario Lemieux (6). McDavid reached the 30-point mark prior to the Stanley Cup Finals for the second time in his career (also 2022) and joined Gretzky (4x) as the second player in NHL history to achieve the feat multiple times.
Hyman scored his 14th goal of these playoffs and surpassed Evander Kane (13 in 2022) and Leon Draisaitl (13 in 2023) for the most in a postseason with the Oilers among active players. Hyman became the seventh different skater in Oilers history to score at least 14 goals in a postseason and the first since Fernando Pisani (14 in 2006).
Defenseman Evan Bouchard had two power-play assists and blocked four shots. Bouchard was held partly in check early in the series, but he racked up four helpers over the last two games. He is up to six goals, 21 assists, 12 power-play points and a plus-14 rating through 18 playoff outings.
Stuart Skinner allowed one goal on 35 shots. IT was just the second time the Stars were able to put up 30-plus shots, but Skinner won both of those contests. He’s now 11-5 with a 2.50 GAA and an .897 save percentage through 16 contests.
The Oilers will be making their eighth Stanley Cup Final appearance, which ties the Flyers for the most by a non-Original Six franchise. Should Edmonton win the Cup, it would tie Chicago and Boston (both with six) for the fourth most in NHL history.
Edmonton is the first Canadian team to make the Final since the 2011 Vancouver Canucks. The Oilers can become the first Canadian team to hoist the Stanley Cup since the Canadiens did so in 1993. Since the start of the NHL’s expansion era (1967-68), Edmonton (5) is one of just three teams with at least five Stanley Cups alongside Montreal (10) & Pittsburgh (5).
Corey Perry is the only player on the Oilers active roster with a Stanley Cup after skating to a championship with the Ducks in 2007. Should Perry hoist the Stanley Cup with the Oilers, his 17 year-gap between championships would be the longest in NHL history.
Just by getting to the Cup Final, Edmonton has done something very impressive: Making it that far after finding itself 10 points out of a playoff spot during the regular season. Entering games Nov. 24, the Oilers were 5-12-1, 10 points back of Seattle and St. Louis for the final wild-card spot in the West and 19 points behind Vegas for the top spot in the conference. That’s when the Oilers — a couple of weeks after Kris Knoblauch took over as coach for Jay Woodcroft, who was dismissed following a 3-9-1 start — went on an eight-game winning streak and began the long climb out of the NHL’s basement.
^MyBookie NHL Stanley Cup Updated Odds
Florida Panthers Betting Line -139
At 2,540 miles between Edmonton and Sunrise, Florida, it’s the longest distance between Stanley Cup Finals opponents in NHL history. The Panthers will meet the Oilers for their first-ever postseason series. This will be the fifth straight championship series that two teams are meeting in the postseason for the first time, as well as the 67th unique Final in NHL history.
Florida lost in five games to Vegas in the 2023 Stanley Cup Finals. These Panthers eliminated the Presidents’ Trophy-winning New York Rangers 2-1 in Game 6 of the East Finals on Saturday. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 23 shots, and Sam Bennett and Vladimir Tarasenko scored the goals.
It was Bennett’s his fourth goal of the 2024 Eastern Conference Finals and tied Matthew Tkachuk (4 in 2023 CF) for the most by a Panthers player in the round before the Stanley Cup Final. Bennett scored in his third straight game and matched the franchise record for longest postseason goal streak.
Tarasenko’s goal proved to be game-winner and registered his first point of the series when he gave Florida a 2-0 lead just before the midway point of the third period. The 32-year-old has faced his share of struggles during the postseason — he was recently demoted to the third line after serving mostly in a top-six role since he was traded from Ottawa. Tarasenko has three goals and three assists and a plus-4 rating in 17 postseason contests.
Bobrovsky turned aside 23 of 24 shots on goal as he faced less than 24 shots on net for the third time over the Panthers’ last four contests. Florida’s style of play has allowed the netminder not to be overworked. Bobrovsky is 12-5 with a 2.20 GAA and a .908 save percentage in 17 playoff appearances this year.
Since the NHL’s expansion era began in 1967-68, only five teams had returned to the Stanley Cup Final after losing the year prior, including only two instances in the past 45 years: the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009 and the Oilers in 1984. Make that six total happenings now.
The Panthers will look to become the third team since the expansion era began to win the Stanley Cup after losing the same round the season prior. They would join the Penguins (2009-2008) and Oilers (1984-1983). Florida aims to become the 22nd active franchise to win its first Stanley Cup and fourth such team over the past seven seasons (also Washington in 2018, St. Louis in 2019 & Vegas in 2023).
^Bet Oilers at Panthers NHL Hockey Odds
When: Saturday, 8 PM ET
Where: Amerant Bank Arena
TV: ABC
Stream: ESPN+
Radio: ESPN Radio
Oilers vs Panthers Season Series
Florida was 2-0 vs. Edmonton this season, winning each by multiple goals – but both were very early on when the Oilers were still finding their way (they also made a coaching change). The last meeting was Dec. 16 in Edmonton and the Panthers rolled 5-1. Carter Verhaeghe had two goals and an assist, and Sam Bennett had a goal and two assists. Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky had 38 saves. Calvin Pickard finished with 34 stops for the Oilers but probably won’t play in this series.
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The #StanleyCup Final begins on Saturday, June 8th!
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