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The Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers meet Monday in Game 2 of the best-of-7 Stanley Cup Final series, which the Panthers lead 1-0. Puck drop from Amerant Bank Arena is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET (ESPN). Below, we analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s lines around the Oilers vs. Panthers odds, and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.
Florida took Saturday’s opener 3-0 as a -140 home favorite with the Under (5.5) cashing. The Panthers won Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Final by the same score, though it was on the road at the New York Rangers.
Against Edmonton Saturday, Florida C Carter Verhaeghe, the franchise’s leading scorer in Stanley Cup playoff history, netted the game’s 1st goal less than 4 minutes in. C Evan Rodrigues made it a 2-0 early in the 2nd period and C Eetu Luostarinen added an empty-netter late in the 3rd.
On the positive end for the Oilers, they outshot the Panthers 32-18 in Game 1 and have killed off 30 straight penalties. LW Zach Hyman, who leads Edmonton with 14 postseason goals, said after the loss that the key was to “not get frustrated,” adding that he liked his team’s game overall.
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Oilers at Panthers odds
Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Sunday at 11:43 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Oilers +118 (bet $100 to win $118) | Panthers -142 (bet $142 to win $100)
- Puck line (PL)/Against the spread (ATS): Oilers +1.5 (-230) | Panthers -1.5 (+188)
- Over/Under (O/U): 5.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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Oilers at Panthers projected goalies
Stuart Skinner (11-6-0, 2.47 GAA, .897 SV%, 1 SO — 2024 playoffs) vs. Sergei Bobrovsky (13-5-0, 2.08 GAA, .915 SV%, 2 SO — 2024 playoffs)
Verhaeghe’s goal was allowed by Skinner on the 1st shot of the game, the 4th time that’s happened to the Oilers goalie this postseason and 11th overall this season, according to Sportsnet Stats. The 25-year-old sported a .922 save percentage in 6 games against the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final.
Bobrovsky has allowed 2 or fewer goals in 11 of his past 12 postseason starts, a feat that has not been accomplished since G Jonathan Quick did so with the Stanley Cup winning Los Angeles Kings back in 2012. The 35-year-old recorded the 1st shutout in a Game 1 of a Stanley Cup Final since 2011 when Vancouver Canucks G Roberto Luongo blanked the Boston Bruins 1-0.
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Oilers at Panthers picks and predictions
Prediction
Panthers 3, Oilers 2
Moneyline
BET PANTHERS (-142).
Florida coach Paul Maurice complimented Verhaeghe and D Gustav Forsling’s journeys and how they had to “work and try and compete and fight” to get to the NHL. Forsling along with D Aaron Ekblad, the team leader in blocked shots (35) this postseason demonstrated in Game 1 their penchant for shutting down the opponent’s best players once again.
C Aleksander Barkov, who won the Selke Trophy as the best defensive forward, has been hugely instrumental in the Panthers’ ability to safeguard their zone no matter the opponent. The captain can score as well — he is tied with LW Matthew Tkachuk for the team lead in postseason points with 19. Plus, C Sam Reinhart is the only Panther in team history with 60+ goals in the regular and postseason combined. He has 65 (57 regular season, 8 postseason), breaking RW Pavel Bure’s record of 57 set in 2000-01.
Expect the Panthers to travel north of the border for Games 3 and 4 with a 2-0 series lead as the Oilers are just not deep enough to pick up a win in South Florida.
Puck line/Against the spread
PASS.
Way too much juice (-230) to lay to take Edmonton getting 1½ goals.
If you want to roll the dice on Florida (-1.5, +188) winning by 2, go for it. Just don’t bet more than 1½ units between the puck line and the moneyline.
I’d rather play it safe and just bet on the Panthers’ ML bet.
Over/Under
BET UNDER 5.5 (-110).
Once the Panthers get the lead, expect all of their lines and defensive pairings to be able to limit the Oilers superstars offensively. Plus, Edmonton plays a much more defensive style under coach Kris Knoblauch than Jay Woodcroft, who was fired in November after a 3-9-1 start.
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