The last time a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup, smartphones were just a figment of the imagination. Even mobile phones were a comparatively rare luxury. The NFL’s Dallas Cowboys were the dominant team in the league, in the middle of a run of three Super Bowl championships in four seasons. The year was 1993, and the Montreal Canadiens, with the flamboyantly dominant Patrick Roy in net, stopped the Los Angeles Kings, who had Wayne Gretzky skating and scoring for them in the aftermath of the Edmonton Oilers’ agreement to trade The Great One so that he could live near Janet Jones, his wife who had a busy acting career in Hollywood. The Kings won Game 1 in Montreal and were minutes from winning Game 2, but a penalty on Kings defenseman Marty McSorley for having a stick with too much curvature in his blade allowed the Canadiens to have a 6-on-4 attack with Roy on the bench in favor of an extra skater, and after that, the Canadiens tied and won the game – and never relinquished the momentum. It’s been a 31-year drought for Canadian teams; the last team from north of the border to appear in a Cup Final was those same Canadiens, back in 2021, but they lost, 4-1. Can the Oilers end this drought? They have their hands full with a Florida Panthers team that features overwhelming offense and serviceable defense and goaltending. Let’s look at the Stanley Cup Finals game schedule, some thoughts about the two teams, and some sports betting props to consider.
NHL Betting Odds: Stanley Cup Finals Rundown | Game Schedule, Picks & Analysis
Game 1: Edmonton Oilers at Florida Panthers (Saturday, June 8, 8:00 pm ET)
Game 2: Edmonton Oilers at Florida Panthers (Monday, June 10, 8:00 pm ET)
Game 3: Florida Panthers at Edmonton Oilers (Thursday, June 13, 8:00 pm ET
Game 4: Florida Panthers at Edmonton Oilers (Saturday, June 15, 8:00 pm ET)
*Game 5: Edmonton Oilers at Florida Panthers (Tuesday, June 18, 8:00 pm ET)
*Game 6: Florida Panthers at Edmonton Oilers (Friday, June 21, 8:00 pm ET)
*Game 7: Edmonton Oilers at Florida Panthers (Monday, June 24, 8:00 pm ET)
*-if necessary
Odds to Win the Stanley Cup Finals by Outcome
- Edmonton wins, 4-0 +1300
- Edmonton wins, 4-1 +750
- Edmonton wins, 4-2 +450
- Edmonton wins, 4-3 +500
- Florida wins, 4-0 +1100
- Florida wins, 4-1 +500
- Florida wins, 4-2 +500
- Florida wins, 4-3 +425
Florida Panthers
Florida won the two games between the teams, but those games came back in November and December, before the Oilers made their head coaching change. Both the Panthers and the Oilers trailed in their respective conference finals, two games to one, before ripping off three-game winning streaks to send the Rangers and Stars home, respectively. The Rangers and Stars were the respective top seeds in the Eastern and Western Conferences, but neither top seed made the Cup Final. The Rangers now have a Cup drought that dates back to 1994, while the Stars’ last NHL title came in 1999.
Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton has creativity and skill, with an offensive scheme that revolves around two of the best offensive players in the sport in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Florida has all kinds of depth, an intrepid forecheck, and a thirst for physical play that, at least so far, has largely remained penalty-free.
For Edmonton, Zach Hyman has turned into a productive presence in front of the net. If the Oilers put Aleksander Barkov all over McDavid, which player will be assigned to Draisaitl? If that player is Matthew Tkachuk, how much success will he have?
In goal, Florida has Sergei Bobrovsky, who briefly struggled against the Boston Bruins but has put up an aggregate 1.77 GAA and .921 save percentage since Game 2 of that series. Can he really stand on his head for another whole series? Edmonton has Stuart Skinner, who was leaky in Games 2 and 3 against Dallas but then recovered to withstand a barrage of shots in Games 4 and 5, to the point where the dispirited Stars barely lifted a collective finger in Game 6.
Will Carter Verhaeghe score the first goal in any game in the Cup Final? (+120)
This is a reasonable prop. Verhaeghe lit the lamp first in six games during the regular season, including one of the two meetings against Edmonton. Admittedly, the odds are fairly low that this will happen, and all it takes is a random bounce for someone else to get the first goal. If you like these Plinko-type props, though, this is a fun one.
Will Carter Verhaeghe put more than 2.5 shots on goal in each Cup Final game? (+1000)
This looks like pretty sizable odds for Verhaeghe to put three shots on goal in each game. In 17 playoff games so far, Verhaeghe has hit that number 11 times, including two different four-game streaks. The Oilers’ defense isn’t really their strength, so if he can find the puck in the offensive end, he should be able to put the puck on the net.
Will Zach Hyman score more than 19.5 goals in these playoffs? (+800)
He has 13 right now. The NHL postseason record is 19. That’s an average of 4.3 per series, and he needs to go on a tear to get to six. These odds feel like they should be higher, but Hyman does benefit from camping out in front of the net and using deflections to get the puck in the net.
All-time #StanleyCup Playoff points leaders in @EdmontonOilers and @FlaPanthers history. 🔢 pic.twitter.com/kmQ683B7lE
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 7, 2024
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