Florida Panthers vs Vegas Golden Knights Prediction, Preview and Odds - 06/03/2023

Game Time: 8:00 pm ET, Saturday, June 3, 2023

Venue:  T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, NV

Where to Watch:  TNT

DraftKings:  Moneyline:  Panthers +115, Golden Knights -135; Over/Under:  5.5 goals

Bet365:  Moneyline:  Panthers +115, Golden Knights -135; Over/Under:  5.5 goals

BetMGM:  Moneyline:  Panthers +115, Golden Knights -135; Over/Under:  5.5 goals

Florida Panthers:  42-32-8 (4th place, Atlantic Division)

Vegas Golden Knights:  51-22-9 (1st place, Pacific Division)

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Florida Panthers:  9-1-0 last 10

Vegas Golden Knights:  7-2-1 last 10

The Panthers are entering this game finishing the regular season with 92 points, a 42-32-8 record overall, and they were 19-19-3 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game on a 5 game winning streak with wins coming against the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Carolina Hurricanes in their last 4 games, winning that last one at home 4-3. Matthew Tkachuk scored 2 goals while Anthony Duclair and Ryan Lomberg each scored 1 goal in that game. Aleksander Barkov led the team in assists with 2 while Sam Bennett led the team in shots on net in that game with 6. Sergei Bobrovsky was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 3 goals on 39 shots with 36 saves and a .923 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 266 goals this season averaging 3.2 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 213 goals against them allowing 2.6 goals per game.

The Golden Knights are entering this game finishing the regular season with 111 points, a 51-22-9 record overall, and they were 25-15-1 in their home games this regular season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off of a win against the Dallas Stars in their last game, winning that one on the road 6-0. William Karlsson scored 2 goals while Michael Amadio, William Carrier, Keegan Kolesar, and Jonathan Marchessault each scored 1 goal in that game. Reilly Smith led the team in assists with 2 while Michael Amadio, William Carrier, Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, and Shea Theodore each led the team in shots on net in that game with 3. Adin Hill was the starting goalie in that game and he recorded the shutout, allowing 0 goals on 23 shots with 23 saves and a 1.000 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 272 goals this season averaging 3.3 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 229 goals against them allowing 2.8 goals per game.

to Draftkings Sportsbook. This is game 1 of a 7-game series between the Eastern Conference Champion Panthers and the Western Conference Champion Golden Knights for the NHL Stanley Cup Finals. The Golden Knights are entering this game as the number 1 seed in the West after ending their series with the Stars in 6 games while the Panthers are entering this game after sweeping the Hurricanes in 4 games in their last series. The Golden knights have been playing well lately but the Panthers are clearly the hotter team coming into this series with only 1 loss in their last 10 games. They have also taken out some big teams in these playoffs like the regular season record breaking Bruins in the 1st round and the Metropolitan Division winners in the last round. They have won 5 games in a row and have all the momentum on their side now. This is still the same Panthers team that won the President's Trophy last season and did make moves in the off-season to improve the team despite their slow start to the season. They have been really hot over the last few months though as they have been playing playoff hockey for a while now, even at the end of the regular season since they needed to win games just to get in. The Golden Knights are also a better road team than they are on their home ice as they had a better road record and the Panthers are going to continue playing the way they have been playing lately which has seen so many good teams struggle to beat them. The best way to place a bet here is on the Panthers to win this game and take a 1-0 series lead here.

Panthers Golden Knights Prediction:  Our NHL Pick for Saturday, June 3, 2023 (8:00 pm ET start time) is Panthers 3 Golden Knights 1.

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Florida Panthers: 13-19 (-16.8 units) on the moneyline in non-conference games. 12-14 (-9.2 units) on the moneyline off a home win. 14-5 UNDER after a 5 game unbeaten streak. 19-9 UNDER off 2 consecutive close home wins by 1 goal.

Vegas Golden Knights: 63-36 (+19 units) on the moneyline in all games. 32-16 (+14.9 units) on the moneyline after playing a road game. 14-5 UNDER after scoring 6 goals or more in their previous game. 16-4 UNDER in the conference finals.

Florida Panthers:  E. Luostarinen (C) Prob Sat - Undisclosed. S. Knight (G) Out indefinitely - Personal. P. Hornqvist (RW) out for season - Concussion.

Vegas Golden Knights:  L. Thompson (G) Early June - Lower Body. L. Brossoit (G) Out indefinitely - Lower Body. N. Patrick (C) out for season - Upper Body. R. Lehner (G) out for season - Hip.

“It's hard to explain right now. Everything just happened so quick. It means a lot. It definitely does. ... It hasn't been easy and nobody said it's going to be easy.” - Aleksander Barkov after their win against the Hurricanes in their game on Wednesday, May 24 which ended the series in a 4-0 sweep, game 4 of that series.

“It was definitely our best game of the playoffs and it came at the right time. You don’t want to let a team off the mat. After getting a 3-0 lead, there was some chatter about that.” - Bruce Cassidy after his team’s win against the Stars in their game on Monday which ended the series 4-2, game 6 of that series.

LW Verhaeghe, Carter

C Barkov, Aleksander

RW Duclair, Anthony

LD Forsling, Gustav

RD Ekblad, Aaron

G Bobrovsky, Sergei

LW Barbashev, Ivan

C Eichel, Jack

RW Marchessault, Jonathan

LD Martinez, Alec

RD Pietrangelo, Alex

G Hill, Adin

Points: M. Tkachuk (109)

Goals: C. Verhaeghe (42)

Assists: M. Tkachuk (69)

GAA: A. Lyon (2.89)

Points: J. Eichel (66)

Goals: J. Marchessault (28)

Assists: C. Stephenson (49)

GAA: L. Brossoit (2.17)

Coaches:

Florida Panthers: Paul Maurice (1st season)

Vegas Golden Knights: Bruce Cassidy (1st season)