Oilers vs Panthers: Will the Series Shift? Betting Odds & Predictions for Game 3

Are we going to get a competitive Stanley Cup Finals? That question will be answered on Thursday night in Game 3 as the series shifts to Edmonton with the Oilers down 2-0 in the series and 0-4 overall this season against the Florida Panthers, who are underdogs on the NHL odds.

Florida at Edmonton, Game 3: 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Finals Analysis

Florida Panthers Betting Odds +102

Interesting that the Panthers are underdogs considering they are not only 4-0 vs. Edmonton this season but have won every game by at least two goals. Florida grabbed a 2-0 Stanley Cup Finals lead with a 4-1 in Game 2 at home on Monday, but it might have been costly as captain Aleksander Barkov, the Selke Trophy winner during the regular season as the league’s best defensive forward, left in the third period after a borderline dirty hit from Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl and is in question for Game 3.

Coach Paul Maurice, and other Panthers players, did not give answers on whether or not they thought Draisaitl’s hit on Barkov was dirty. If Barkov cannot play, the Panthers would be without one of the best two-way forwards in the NHL. Wayne Gretzky said it himself, calling him the best defensive forward he has seen since Bryan Trottier.

Barkov did skate with the team at practice on Wednesday morning, which is obviously a positive sign. Barkov played in 73 games this season, scoring 23 goals and notching 57 assists. In the playoffs, he has six goals and 13 assists while playing tremendous defense. Young center Anton Lundell could step up and play a key role in Barkov’s absence if need be. The 21-year-old Finn has three goals and 14 points in 19 games this postseason. He also plays high quality defense in his own end of the ice.

The offensive star of Game 2 was Evan Rodrigues with two goals. Rodrigues extended his point streak to three games and goal streak to two contests thanks to Monday’s performance. He became the first player in Panthers history with a multi-goal game in the Finals. His three goals in two games this series have matched his total from Florida’s 17 games in the first three rounds. Rodrigues has proven to be an important part of Florida’s attack — he’s currently playing alongside Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett on the second line. Rodrigues has outscored Edmonton’s star trio of Connor McDavid, Draisaitl and Zach Hyman, who combined for 127 regular-season goals, by a total of 3-0 in these Finals. Rodrigues is one of 11 players since 1997 to score in each of his first two career appearances in the Stanley Cup Finals.

“So happy for him, proud of him,” said Tkachuk, whose line Rodrigues joined during the Eastern Conference final series against the New York Rangers “Playing with him the last few games, he reads the game so well. That’s two games in a row scoring some big goals for us. He’s a super smart player, and I’m really happy to see him get rewarded right now.”

After the Panthers out shot the Oilers 22-7 through two periods of Game 2, Sergei Bobrovsky denied all 12 shots on goal by Edmonton in the third period to turn out his third consecutive outing allowing one goal or fewer. He is the first goaltender in 16 years to yield one or fewer goals against through the first two games of the Final.

The Panthers have outscored opponents 28-11 in the third period this postseason (including 4-0 in the Final). Their plus-17 goal differential in the third period is tied with the 1999 Stars for the fifth highest in a single postseason in NHL history, behind the 1984 Oilers (22), 1983 Islanders (22), 1944 Canadiens (19) and 2003 Devils (18).

Edmonton Oilers Betting Odds -124

This will be Edmonton’s first home Stanley Cup Finals game since 2006 as the Oilers try to become the sixth team in NHL history to win a title after overcoming a 2-0 series deficit during the championship round. A total of 11 of the past 14 teams to face a 2-0 series deficit in the Finals won Game 3, including the 2006 Oilers.

The Oilers ranked fourth in goals per game (3.56) and the power play (26.3 percent) in the regular season. Through the first three rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they were averaging 3.50 goals per game and scoring on 37.3 percent of their power plays. They have the top three scorers in the playoffs in Connor McDavid (32 points), Leon Draisaitl (28) and defense man Evan Bouchard (28). They also have the top-goal scorer in the playoffs: forward Zach Hyman (14). Yet they have scored one goal in two games against the Panthers. They haven’t scored at 5-on-5 and are 0-for-7 on the power play.

“I think we generated enough opportunities in the first game, not enough in the second,” coach Kris Knoblauch said. “Obviously, we’ll look at special teams. That’s such an important part of the game, because each team is always making adjustments quite a bit throughout a series, so whether things are going well or poorly, special teams are something we spend a lot of emphasis on.”

Draisaitl was lucky he wasn’t suspended for Game 3 after a questionable hit in Game 2 on Florida star forward Aleksander Barkov. With the Panthers leading 2-1 in the third period, Barkov played the puck in his defensive zone. Draisaitl came in on the forecheck, left his skates, and his elbow contacted Barkov’s jaw. The Florida captain fell to the ice, was tended to by medical staff, and then left for the trainers’ room. The NHL Department of Player Safety ruled on Tuesday that Draisaitl will neither be fined nor suspended for the hit, which received a two-minute minor for roughing.

Draisaitl has just one goal and two assists in his past seven playoff games. He has no points in the final. In the previous seven games, he had 13 points, four of them goals. Superstar center Connor McDavid has just one assist and no goals through two games against Florida, most of his ice time spent playing against Barkov and the defense pairing of Gustav Forsling and Aaron Ekblad. He, too, has to be better and less distracted for the Oilers to get a win.

McDavid notched his first career Stanley Cup Finals point with an assist on the opening goal of Game 2 and will look to help his club continue a recent trend that has seen six of the past seven Final games won by the home club.

Edmonton could be without top defense man Darnell Nurse in Game 3. Due to a hip injury, Nurse finished Game 2 with just 4:20 of ice time. He was spotted going between the dressing room and the bench for the majority of the night. Nurse tried to go out onto the ice several times after his initial injury in the first period.

Nurse has three assists in 20 games in these playoffs. He entered Game 2 averaging 19:48 of ice time per game in the playoffs, third among Edmonton defensemen behind Evan Bouchard (24:42) and Mattias Ekholm (21:46). In Game 2, the Oilers also lost forward Warren Foegele, who was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct for his knee-on-knee hit on Panthers center Eetu Luostarinen at 9:21 of the first period. Foegele also avoided suspension.

Netminder Stuart Skinner stopped 25 of 28 shots in Monday’s 4-1 loss to Florida. It was only the second time in his last 10 outings that Skinner has allowed more than two goals in a contest. The 25-year-old has an .886 save percentage through two games in this series, which is not good enough. The last time Skinner lost consecutive contests in the 2024 playoff, he won his next three.

Bet Panthers at Oilers NHL Odds

When: Thursday, 8 PM ET
Where: Rogers Place
TV: ABC
Stream: ESPN+
Radio: ESPN radio

The save that everyone's still talking about. 🤭 #StanleyCup

📺: @EdmontonOilers vs. @FlaPanthers Game 3 TOMORROW at 8p ET on ABC, @ESPNPlus, @Sportsnet, Sportsnet+, and @TVASports pic.twitter.com/7LFev7Yc3a

— NHL (@NHL) June 12, 2024

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