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The 2024 Stanley Cup Final gets started on Saturday night at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida as the Edmonton Oilers visit the Florida Panthers for Game 1.
Below is our Stanley Cup preview along with some picks and Panthers vs. Oilers props to consider for the series along with the best Stanley Cup bonus offers from various sportsbooks:
2024 Stanley Cup Final odds & picks: Oilers vs. Panthers preview
The Florida Panthers (-135 to win series) are making their second straight Stanley Cup appearance and are looking for that elusive first title, while Edmonton (+115) is in the Final for the first time in nearly 20 seasons and is seeking its first championship since 1990.
This series boasts an extremely well-rounded Florida team with a severe goaltending advantage against the best player in the game in Connor McDavid along with his running mate Leon Draisaitl. The two of them willed the Oilers to having the the top-scoring offense during the regular season and their pace has not relented in the playoffs so far.
McDavid and Draisaitl have combined for 59 points (15 goals, 44 assists), playing the tip-of-the-spear role of the vaunted Oilers offense. Forward Zach Hyman leads the NHL in playoff goals with 14, yet another key cog in the scoring juggernaut that tallied 325 goals in the regular season.
Below are our favorite Oilers vs. Panthers picks and props for the series:
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Edmonton put on a an offensive clinic during the 2023 NHL regular season, but the defense of Aaron Ekblad, Gustav Forsling, and Sergei Bobrovsky looks too steep a hill to climb. The Panthers are making their second straight appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals, and with an offense that can hang with the Oilers and a physical, dominant defense, Florida looks poised to hoist its first ever Stanley Cup.
The Oilers will meet a Panthers squad that is averaging 3.24 goals per game in the playoffs and only allowing 2.29. Florida Captain Aleksander Barkov has notched six goals in the playoffs, and along with forward Matthew Tkachuk, presents a menace on attack for the Oilers to defend.
And defense? Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky has not shown his mastery between the pipes as in the past, but he raised his save percentage to .921 in the last series against the New York Rangers. He will certainly have his hands full against the dynamic playmaking of the Oilers’ attack.
Tkachuk and fellow forward Sam Bennett both spent time with the Calgary Flames, and are keenly familiar with the Oilers’ style of play. Look for the Panthers to score early and often and put the clamps down on defense to secure the series.
Oilers forward Zach Hyman has pieced together an absurd postseason campaign, and with Sergei Bobrovsky allowing a couple of high-scoring affairs, he should be able to capitalize and continue finding the back of the net. Hyman has 14 goals in the postseason, including a hat trick against Phoenix Copley and the Los Angeles Kings. He has six career goals against the Panthers.
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Carter Breazeale is a contributor for Catena Media with a focus on sports, business and the business of sports. An Atlanta native currently residing in Orlando, Carter graduated from The University of Central Florida. He’s appeared in Catena’s PlayGeorgia, SB Nation’s The Falcoholic and The Orlando Business Journal.
