by Will Rogers
Monday, Jun 03, 2024In both the NBA and the NHL playoffs, we're down to two teams remaining. The Boston Celtics will take on Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals. The Boston Bruins and the Dallas Stars had hoped to also be playing. That would have made for quite the spectacle. The Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers made sure that didn't happen. Florida took care of Boston in Eastern Conference Finals and Edmonton defeated Boston in the Western Conference Finals. Now the two will face each other for the right to hoist the Stanley Cup. The Panthers are favored in a range between -130 to -145.
Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers were the best team of the 1980s but haven't won the. Cup since 1990. This year's team got off to a terrible 2-9-1 start. Interestingly, the Oilers made history by getting here. No team ever started with five points or less through its first 12 games and made it to the Final. That slow start led to a coaching change. Soon, thereafter, Edmonton became one of the best teams in hockey. In the past, the Oilers had Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl but not much else. They would generally try and outscore teams. This year's team is still led by its two stars. The Oilers are now more complete through and have learned and shown that they can win with defense.
Florida Panthers
The Panthers have never won the Stanley Cup. They went to the Finals in 1996 and then again last year. The Panthers had some key injuries to their top defensemen to start the season. It didn't stop them from playing well. Once they got healthy, Florida was even better. On the topic of health, in last year's Finals loss to the Las Vegas Golden Knights, the Panthers were dealing with numerous injuries. This year's team comes in much healthier and playing its best hockey. The Panthers are strong at both ends of the ice and they've got great goaltending.
Head-Head History
The Panthers took both regular season meetings, 5-3 and 5-1. Those games were both in 2023 though. The first, at Florida, came when the Oilers were only 2-7 on the road and Pickard was in goal. The Oilers also had Calvin Pickard between the pipes for the second game. Now the Panthers will face a red hot Stuart Skinner. That's a big difference. Skinner was in net for each of the 2022 meetings and the Oilers won both games.
Canada Needs This
There was once a time when the Stanley Cup was won regularly by the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs. When I was growing up, we expected it. The Oilers had their dynasty in the 1980s. Even Calgary won a Cup back in 1988-89. No Canadian team has won it since Montreal did it in 1993 though. That's more than 30 years! Hockey has always been a source of pride in Canada. But a whole generation has grown up without the Cup. It won't be easy, as Florida is a great team. But Canada could really use this win!
Game 1 Player Prop: Skinner Over 27.5 saves (-105)
I touched on Skinner being a difference-maker for the Oilers. He Stars took 34 shots on him last game. He also faced 28 and 42 shots in the two games where he opposed Florida in 2022. The Panthers had 34, 37, 40 and 37 shots their last four games. They should fire more than 30 shots at Skinner in Game 1 and he should save more than 27 of them.
Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers were the best team of the 1980s but haven't won the. Cup since 1990. This year's team got off to a terrible 2-9-1 start. Interestingly, the Oilers made history by getting here. No team ever started with five points or less through its first 12 games and made it to the Final. That slow start led to a coaching change. Soon, thereafter, Edmonton became one of the best teams in hockey. In the past, the Oilers had Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl but not much else. They would generally try and outscore teams. This year's team is still led by its two stars. The Oilers are now more complete through and have learned and shown that they can win with defense.
Florida Panthers
The Panthers have never won the Stanley Cup. They went to the Finals in 1996 and then again last year. The Panthers had some key injuries to their top defensemen to start the season. It didn't stop them from playing well. Once they got healthy, Florida was even better. On the topic of health, in last year's Finals loss to the Las Vegas Golden Knights, the Panthers were dealing with numerous injuries. This year's team comes in much healthier and playing its best hockey. The Panthers are strong at both ends of the ice and they've got great goaltending.
Head-Head History
The Panthers took both regular season meetings, 5-3 and 5-1. Those games were both in 2023 though. The first, at Florida, came when the Oilers were only 2-7 on the road and Pickard was in goal. The Oilers also had Calvin Pickard between the pipes for the second game. Now the Panthers will face a red hot Stuart Skinner. That's a big difference. Skinner was in net for each of the 2022 meetings and the Oilers won both games.
Canada Needs This
There was once a time when the Stanley Cup was won regularly by the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs. When I was growing up, we expected it. The Oilers had their dynasty in the 1980s. Even Calgary won a Cup back in 1988-89. No Canadian team has won it since Montreal did it in 1993 though. That's more than 30 years! Hockey has always been a source of pride in Canada. But a whole generation has grown up without the Cup. It won't be easy, as Florida is a great team. But Canada could really use this win!
Game 1 Player Prop: Skinner Over 27.5 saves (-105)
I touched on Skinner being a difference-maker for the Oilers. He Stars took 34 shots on him last game. He also faced 28 and 42 shots in the two games where he opposed Florida in 2022. The Panthers had 34, 37, 40 and 37 shots their last four games. They should fire more than 30 shots at Skinner in Game 1 and he should save more than 27 of them.
