After two months of seeing teams gut it out against one another, we’re down to the final two.
The Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers will now meet in the Stanley Cup Finals for the first
time against one another. This is the second time in two years and the third trip overall for the
Panthers as they look to etch their franchise’s name onto Lord Stanley’s Mug for the first time in
club history. For the Oilers, well they have a storied history in regards to the Stanley Cup but this
time around it’s all about the young guns. This is Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl’s first trip
to the Stanley Cup Finals in their careers and are determined to bring the championship north of
the border for the first time since 1993.
Big Cat Attack
For the fifth-straight year, the Sunshine State will have a representative in the Finals. The
Panthers are relentless in their attack, and are not afraid to go head first into the dirty areas.
This has served them well as they’ve ripped through three of the best goalies in the league
through the first three rounds. It started out with Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy who was soon
followed by Jeremy Swayman in Boston before they figured out Igor Shesterkin and the New
York Rangers.
Florida netminder Sergei Bobrovsky has been excellent in the lead-up to the final round. He’s
allowed three or more goals just four times through his 17 games played. He’s posted at 2.20
goals against average with a .908 save percentage. The question is, can he avoid faltering in
the finals like he did against Vegas last year?
Oil Town Beatdown
Backed by the stellar play of Stuart Skinner in the Conference Finals, Edmonton is back in the
dance for the first time since 2006. They haven’t won a Cup since the days of Mark Messier as
captain in 1990 but have their best shot since then. Skinner was on his game against the Stars
in Round 3, posting a .922 save percentage and a 1.91 goals against average. He capped it off
by making 33 of 34 saves while his Oilers cohorts produced a measly 10 shots on net in terms
of offense.
When it comes to special teams, Edmonton is king. They are first on the power play, going
4-for-5 in their last two games alone. They haven’t allowed a power play goal through their last
ten games, leading the league on the penalty kill. In fact, they’re perfect on their last 28 attempts
when down a man going back to Game 3 of the second round.
NHL Series Odds
Oilers Series +118
Panthers Series -138
Regular Season Head-to-Head
Nov 20: Oilers 3 Panthers 5
Dec 16: Panthers 5 Oilers 1
2024 NHL Finals Schedule
Game 1: Oilers vs. Panthers, June 8
Game 2: Oilers vs. Panthers, June 10
Game 3: Panthers vs. Oilers, June 13
Game 4: Panthers vs. Oilers, June 15
Game 5: Oilers vs. Panthers, June 18*
Game 6: Panthers vs. Oilers, June 21*
Game 7: Oilers vs. Panthers, June 24*