The Edmonton Oilers are back in the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 2006, making their long-awaited return to hockey’s premier championship series. Across the ice from the Oilers are the Florida Panthers, a team making their second consecutive series after losing to the Golden Knights last season.
While Florida was always considered a contender this season, the Oilers have been a team few expected to advance beyond the Western Conference semifinals.
With so much on the line, which players should bettors expect to come through with big games in the game’s biggest series? We’ll cover our top three player prop bets for Saturday as well as our best overall bet.
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The Oilers advanced through the Western Conference Finals with a strong defense that shut down the Dallas Stars’ offense. Over the final three games in the series, the Oilers held Dallas to four total goals, a marked difference from the first three games where the Stars scored 11 times against the Oilers.
Offensively, Edmonton will lean on left wing Zach Hyman. The 6-foot-1 scorer has been prolific this season, scoring the third-most goals in the NHL during the regular season while adding 14 scores in the postseason.
Expect Hyman to find the back of the net at least once in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals and cover this player prop bet.
Florida won three straight against the New York Rangers to advance past the Eastern Conference Finals for the second straight season. The Panthers are among the league’s best defenses, and Florida reminded fans why with three straight one-goal wins to close out the series.
When the team looks to start their offense, Florida looks to left wing Matthew Tkachuk. The 6-foot-2 athlete finished 12th in the NHL this season with 62 assists and 20th overall with 88 points.
In the postseason, Tkachuk added another 19 points to his total. Expect he’ll at least add one assist on Saturday to cover this player prop bet.
The defensive effort in the final three games of the Western Conference Finals started well before the goalie. Edmonton’s defensemen were physical, causing the puck to exchange hands before Dallas was able to settle for good shots.
The Oilers need a repeat of that in this Saturday contest to keep the Panthers from winning this game. It’s for that reason that picking Skinner to have more than 26 saves is not a proposition we’d advise.
Although Skinner had 33 saves in the Game 6 finale against Dallas, his other efforts in the series were well below the 26.5-saves mark. Expect that his defense will keep the Panthers from getting good shot attempts again Saturday night.
This matchup showcases two teams that have been strong defensively over the past two weeks. It’s hard to expect that this game will be a high-scoring affair.
A blowout in this series would very well be a 4-1 win, a total that’s still under Saturday’s generous over/under line. Expect a final score in the 3-2 range at best to cover this bet.