The odds to win the NHL championship are stacked against the Edmonton Oilers as they prepare to play host to the Florida Panthers in Game 3 of their Stanley Cup Final series Thursday. ABC and ESPN+ will have live television coverage starting at 8 p.m. EDT.
The Panthers, coming off a 3-0 victory at home in the series opener and then a 4-1 triumph in their building in Game 2 on Monday, hold a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. They are listed at -450 at DraftKings to win their first Stanley Cup. The Oilers, who will play the next two games on home ice at Rogers Place, are available at +400 on BetMGM.
In positive news for Edmonton, it owns a 6-3 record at home this postseason, but on the other hand Florida is 6-2 on the road, the best mark for any team.
Over the past 10 seasons, six times a team with the home-ice edge in the final jumped out to a 2-0 series lead. All went on to win the Cup, including Vegas’ series against Florida in 2023.
The last time any squad overcame such a disadvantage to win the title came in 2011 when the Boston Bruins recovered from a 2-0 deficit after road losses at Vancouver to win the crown in seven games.
Stanley Cup Game 3 odds: Oilers favored at home over Panthers
Check out live odds for Panthers vs. Oilers Game 3 at top-rated sportsbooks:
The UNDER has cashed in the first two games of the series.
Oilers vs. Panthers top goal scorer prop in Final
Here are FanDuel’s odds for most goals by a player in the Stanley Cup Final (current number of goals in parentheses):
- Florida C Evan Rodrigues (3): +140
- Florida C Carter Verhaeghe (1): +550
- Edmonton LW Zach Hyman: +750
- Edmonton C Connor McDavid: +1000
- Edmonton C Leon Draisaitl: +1000
- Florida C Sam Reinhart: +1000
More: Best NHL betting sites | 2024 Stanley Cup championship odds
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Florida Panthers betting trends
Center Evan Rodrigues, who had gone without a goal in nine straight playoff games before this series, has been Florida’s top offensive weapon against Edmonton.
After scoring Florida’s second goal on Saturday, he had two on Monday — the go-ahead score in the third period followed by an insurance goal on the power play less than 10 minutes later. Center Sam Reinhart, whose 57 goals in the regular season were second most in the league, hasn’t scored and didn’t even have a shot on net Monday.
That power-play goal snapped the Oilers’ streak of 34 straight man-disadvantage kills. As long as goalie Sergei Bobrovsky continues to excel, the Panthers might not need much offensive activity. The Oilers hadn’t been held to one goal in a two-game span since 2022 until Bobrovsky just did it.
Also, for the second straight outing, the Panthers had a substantial edge in hits, with a 37-28 advantage Monday after having 57 to Edmonton’s 32 on Saturday. And that total doesn’t include a cross-check by Matthew Tkachuk against Edmonton’s Connor McDavid in the closing minutes.
And speaking of hits, of particular concern for the Panthers is the status of captain Aleksander Barkov for Game 3. In the third period Monday, he was viciously elbowed on the right side of the head by Leon Draisaitl, who received a minor penalty for roughing. It appeared to warrant more than that.
On Wednesday, Barkov was reported to be back at practice and the team is optimistic he’ll be ready to go Thursday.
Then there’s this regarding the trip from South Florida to Edmonton on Wednesday, which spanned 2,541 air miles. The Panthers’ charter flight was delayed by three hours because of storms in Miami. The team finally arrived just 22 hours before puck drop.
Edmonton Oilers betting trends
The Oilers no doubt are delighted to get to play on home ice again. In the regular season, their 294 goals were fourth most in the league, with 169 of them coming at home, which ranked second.
But in the team’s only game against Florida at Rogers Place this season, the Oilers were bashed 5-1, the most lopsided home loss of the season. Counting the playoffs, they are 0-4 vs. Florida, losing each of the games by at least three goals.
Edmonton has no shortage of offensive weapons, led by McDavid. His 32 points (5 goals, 27 assists) are tops among all playoff scorers this season.
Right behind are the sharp-elbowed Draisaitl (10 goals, 18 assists, 28 points) and Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard (6 goals, 21 assists, 27 points). Left wing Zach Hyman has only 18 points, but 14 goals. That’s four more than anyone this postseason.
The Oilers have been remarkably strong on the power play in the playoffs, converting at a 32.3 percent clip, but just not against the Panthers. Edmonton entered the series with a 37.3 percent success rate, but has gone 0-for-7 with a man advantage in its two losses.
In net, Stuart Skinner has given up more than two goals in only two of his past 10 games since his two-game benching against Vancouver in the second round. His goals-against average is decent at 2.51, but well off the mark of 2.02 for Bobrovsky.
Oilers vs. Panthers Game 3 prediction
As previously mentioned, six teams since 2014 have jumped out to 2-0 series lead at home en route to winning the Cup.
But what wasn’t mentioned was that four of the teams that were down 2-0 returned home for Game 3 and won. The Panthers know how that works, having done that last year against Vegas, winning 3-2 in overtime.
It was the home crowd that spurred the Oilers on from an early 2-0 hole in Game 4 against Dallas to victory and an eventual series triumph. Why not again?
Game 3 Pick: Oilers moneyline (-134 BetRivers)
Series Pick: Panthers in 5
Prop Pick: Hyman has nice odds to score tonight considering he was second in the league in the regular season with 36 goals in home games. He has 10 of his 14 postseason goals at Rogers Center, too. Play him as an anytime goal scorer at +115 at BetRivers.
