- What: Florida Panthers vs Edmonton Oilers - Stanley Cup Finals
- When: Game 1 Saturday, June 8th
- Where: Amerant Bank Arena/Rogers Place
We're finally here. Just two teams remain in the NHL Playoffs and they will battle it out in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Florida Panthers return to the Cup after losing to the Vegas Golden Knights a year ago, but this time they will face Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers, who are making their first appearance in the Finals since 2006. This is a seven-game series, with the opener scheduled for Saturday, June 8th at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida. In fact, this is the furthest distance between two Stanley Cup teams in NHL history. There will be a lot of traveling, especially if the series goes the distance. Below, find the Stanley Cup Finals picks.
Before we get into the odds, preview, and prediction, make sure to check out our NHL Playoffs Page and our Stanley Cup Odds.
Panthers vs Oilers Series Odds
The Panthers are the series favorite with -133 odds for an implied win probability of 57.08%. The Oilers come back at +118 and have a 45.87% chance of coming out as Stanley Cup champions.
Florida won both meetings with Edmonton during the regular season, outscoring them 10-4 in the process.
Panthers Looking For Revenge
Remember when the Cats lost in the Finals in 2023? Well, maybe it's not revenge because they're not facing the same team, but Florida surely is motivated to lift the Cup this time around. While many believed their Cinderella run was a fluke, the Panthers proved that was far from the case. Paul Maurice's squad ended up winning the Atlantic Division in 2023-24 with a 52-24-6 record and has looked just as dominant in the playoffs. Round one saw them take care of the Tampa Bay Lightning in just five games before taking down the Boston Bruins in the second round. The conference finals were a bit more difficult but Florida still advanced past the New York Rangers, who won the Presidents' Trophy.
On both ends of the ice, the Cats have been relatively solid in the postseason. Sergei Bobrovsky is playing outstanding hockey in net, allowing just 2.29 goals per contest. Offensively, Florida is scoring 3.24 times per game on average. Matthew Tkachuk leads the way with 19 points, while Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe have 17 apiece. Anton Lundell, Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, and Gustav Forsling are all in double-digits, too. There is enough different players contributing for the Panthers.
The key in this series for Florida will be finding a way to slow down McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. However, they also can't take their eyes off the likes of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Evan Bouchard, and Zach Hyman, too. Edmonton has a lot of weapons that the Cats must figure out a way to contain. If they can, the Panthers will have a legitimate chance of being Stanley Cup champs.
Oilers Finally Looking to Win a Cup
Since the Oilers drafted McDavid, they've failed to make an appearance in the Stanley Cup. That came with no shortage of criticism, especially because this has always been such a talented roster. Defending and goaltending was a problem year after year, but they finally figured that out this season and it's resulted in an opportunity to get a ring. Edmonton started the regular season very poorly before winning 16 in a row and from that point on, they never looked back.
Kris Knoblauch's group was the second seed out of the Pacific Division, beating the Los Angeles Kings in the first round. Edmonton then took care of the Vancouver Canucks in round two in a hard-fought seven-game series that could've easily gone the other way. The West Finals were extremely close against the Stars but McDavid and Co. proved to be superior, winning in six games as McDavid starred in the series clincher with a goal and an assist.
When you look at the playoff leaders in points, you can understand exactly why the Oilers are in the Stanley Cup. The top four are all from Edmonton. McDavid (32 points), Draisaitl (28 points), Bouchard (27 points), and Nugent-Hopkins (20 points). The main stars are showing up and doing their job. Defensively, the Oilers are also conceding just 2.61 times per night, with Stuart Skinner more or less doing his job in between the posts. If the core can continue to fire on all cylinders offensively, the Panthers will have one hell of a time winning the series.
Stanley Cup Finals Picks
I really do believe in this Oilers core. When they're on, no one can honestly stop them. I think they will do enough in the series to beat the Panthers and win the Stanley Cup.
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