NHL Best Bets
If you’re a fan of the Florida Panthers, there is a lot to be happy about today. Not only is your team up 2-0 in the series, which gives them north of a 90% chance to win the Stanley Cup, but Aleksander Barkov also participated in practice today which means it’s more than likely that he will be okay to play Game Three. That said, I do find it interesting that the Panthers decided to travel today, one day before the game, as opposed to yesterday, which would have given them a day to adjust to the time change and get their legs under them a bit. You know what they say, you’re never in trouble in a playoff series until you lose a game at home. So technically, the Edmonton Oilers don’t have anything to panic about just yet. Let’s get into our NHL best bets.
Florida at Edmonton (-135, 5.5)
The Edmonton Oilers are 6-3-0 at home in the 2024 playoffs and have always had a good buzz out of the gate when playing in front of their home crowd. Game Three should be a similar story. Their first period in Game Three wasn’t their best. The Oilers struggled to get on the inside of the Florida Panthers and create any offense. However, at home, especially in the opening frame, Edmonton has been averaging 10.37 shots on goal and 1.04 goals.
We saw the temperature change in the Western Conference Final. Both games in Dallas were relatively low-scoring, and then once the series shifted to Edmonton, both teams started to find their offensive production.
Florida hasn’t necessarily reached their full offensive potential yet, either. I’m expecting Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe, and Matthew Tkachuk to get going a bit more as the series progresses. On the flip side, you have to imagine Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl will be able to break through at some point.
Sergei Bobrovsky has been outstanding in this series thus far, with a .980 save percentage and a 0.50 goals-against average. I’m not trying to take away any credit from him, but are those numbers sustainable? Especially on the road?
Stuart Skinner has been fine through two games for the Oilers, not exceptional, but fine. Florida has been able to find ways to break through thanks to Evan Rodrigues, who has three goals leading both teams through the first two games.
Throughout the postseason, the Panthers have been averaging 3.26 goals per game while the Oilers have been scoring 3.20 goals each contest. The big guns can’t be held off the board much longer.
Game Three will have a much different feel to it than the previous games we’ve seen. There’s an offensive explosion coming, it’s bound to happen, which makes for some good NHL best bets.
NHL Best Bet(s): Over 1.5 goals in the first period -105 (play to -115) | Over 5.5 -105 (play to -115)
June Record: 4-7 (-3.85 units)
2023-24 record: 196–183 (-19.77 units)
