25* NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE GAME OF THE YEAR!
- Handicapper
- Hollywood Sports
- League
- NHL
- Competition
- Edmonton Oilers vs Florida Panthers
- Time
- 06/18/2024 08:20 PM
- Bet Type
- Moneyline
- Pick
-
Florida Panthers -134
(BetOnline)
- Outcome
- Loss
- Analysis
- At 8:20 PM ET on Tuesday, we will be playing the money-line on the Florida Panthers (20) versus the Edmonton Oilers (19) in Game Five of the Stanley Cup Finals. THE SITUATION: Florida (67-28-8) saw their six-game winning streak snapped in an 8-1 loss on the road against the Oilers on Saturday. Edmonton (62-35-7) still looks to stave off elimination trailing 3-1 in this best-of-seven series.
REASONS TO TAKE THE PANTHERS WITH THE MONEY-LINE: After a frustrating first three games against Florida, almost everything went right for the Oilers in Game Four. Connor McDavid finally scored a goal. Edmonton finally scored on a power play — and they also began the game by scoring a shorthanded goal. The Oilers’ pressure knocked the Panthers’ goalie Sergei Bobrovsky out of the game after scoring five goals against him on 16 shots. Stuart Skinner played his best game in the series — and perhaps the entire postseason — by stopping 32 of the 33 shots he faced. Admittedly, the deeper analytics indicated that the series was closer than the 3-0 margin suggested. Edmonton probably should have won Game One. But there are still some larger issues that are trending in Florida’s favor despite the loss on Saturday. The Oilers had a sense of urgency to avoid being swept and seeing the Panthers lift the cup in their building. And Florida had the confidence that only one of 28 teams in the history of the NHL had rallied back from an 0-3 deficit to win in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Panthers’ forechecking approach is still working to wear down Edmonton — and head coach Paul Maurice has been keeping his players fresher due to Florida’s deeper bench. Now back at home, Maurice has the advantage of the final line change — and he can better take advantage of the Oilers’ defensive pairing of Darnell Nurse and Codi Ceci who have been weak links for them all postseason. Edmonton has still scored on only one power play in their 16 opportunities with the man advantage after going just one of six on Saturday. Maurice blamed the play of the defense rather than Bobrovsky post-game — and the two-time Vezina Trophy winner has a 4-1 record in his last five playoff games following a loss with a 1.97 Goals-Against-Average and a .914 save percentage. He returns home where he has a .973 save percentage in his last three games — and he only gave up one goal on the 51 shots he faced against the Oilers in Games One and Two of this series. Skinner, on the other hand, has a .890 save percentage in his last eight road games this postseason — and he had a .889 save percentage in the first two games of this series in Florida’s building. Edmonton has lost 11 of their last 18 road games against Eastern Conference teams — and they have lost 8 of their last 12 road games when playing for no more than the fifth time in the last 14 days. Florida has won 22 of their last 35 games after losing their previous game — and they have won 11 of their last 17 games after a loss on the road. They have won 8 of their last 11 games after allowing five or more goals in their last game — and they have won 8 of their last 10 games after a game where nine or more goals were scored. They have also won 15 of their last 16 games when playing with two days of rest. Back at home, the Panthers have won 8 of their 11 games in these playoffs — and they have won 11 of their last 16 home games with the total set at 5.5. Florida has also won 15 of their last 20 playoff games when trailing in the series.
FINAL TAKE: The Panthers lost Game Five of the Stanley Cup Finals last year to Vegas by a 9-3 score — and they did not get the chance for revenge for that blowout loss until the next season since the Golden Knights lifted the cup that night. Florida has their chance to redeem themselves from another bad loss tonight while also fulfilling their dream of winning the championship. The Panthers have won 8 of their last 12 games when avenging a loss by three or more goals. 25* NHL Game of the Year with the money-line on the Florida Panthers (20) versus the Edmonton Oilers (19). Best of luck for us — Frank.
