The NBA and NHL finals in 2024 start this week. We’ll look at the NBA next week to see how the finals are shaping up. This week, a look at the NHL as the final best-of-seven series starts on Saturday, June 8th, in Sunrise, Florida, where the Florida Panthers host the Edmonton Oilers starting at 8 p.m. EST.
Stanley Cup Odds to Win
The two teams vying for the cup are closely matched, but Florida is the favorite of most sports critics.
| Outcome | Odds |
|---|---|
| Florida Panthers Win | -128 |
| Edmonton Oilers Win | +106 |
| Series Winner – Florida Panthers (7 Games) | +410 |
| Series Winner – Edmonton Oilers (6 Games) | +460 |
| Series Winner – Florida Panthers (6 Games) | +490 |
| Series Winner – Florida Panthers (5 Games) | +500 |
| Series Winner – Edmonton Oilers (7 Games) | +550 |
| Series Winner – Edmonton Oilers (5 Games) | +700 |
| Series Winner – Florida Panthers (4 Games) | +1100 |
| Series Winner – Edmonton Oilers (4 Games) | +1400 |
Conn Smythe Trophy Odds to Win
Before the Stanley Cup is rewarded, the Conn Smythe Trophy is given to the most valuable player of the NHL Finals. This year’s top 10 candidates:
| Player | Odds |
|---|---|
| Connor McDavid | +200 |
| Sergei Bobrovsky | +400 |
| Aleksander Barkov | +400 |
| Matthew Tkachuk | +550 |
| Leon Draisaitl | +950 |
| Evan Bouchard | +1100 |
| Carter Verhaeghe | +2200 |
| Gustav Forsling | +5000 |
| Sam Reinhart | +7500 |
| Zach Hyman | +10000 |
Only five Conn Smythe winners have been on the losing team in the playoffs, which means McDavid will have to stand out if he’s to win and the Oilers lose. However, if he stands out that much, they can win. He is leading the playoffs with 31 points, but only five of those are goals.
Goalies are critical to a team’s success in the playoffs. Bobrovsky is the only goalie in the top 10, which shows that the Panthers have the edge in goaltending.
How the Panthers Will Win the Cup
Florida has home-ice advantage and is a more well-rounded team. They don’t have any weaknesses that the Oilers can exploit. Last year, they also made it to the Stanley Cup Finals, but the Las Vegas Golden Knights beat them in five games. This year, they’ve only gotten better. With playoff experience, a better goalie than Edmonton, a punishing forechecking style, and a deeper roster, the Panthers finally have all the boxes ticked to win their first Stanley Cup Championship.
How the Oilers Will Win the Cup
It’s been over 30 years since the Oilers last hoisted the Cup in 1990. They were considered contenders before the start of this season but had a rough start, being tied for last place on November 9th. Three days later, they changed coaches, bringing in Kris Knoblauch as head coach and Hall of Fame defenseman Paul Coffey as assistant coach.
Under the new coaches, the Oilers finished second in the Pacific division with a 49-27-6 record, which included a 16-game winning streak.
Edmonton arguably has the best player in the NHL, Connor McDavid, combined with Leon Draisaitl, who is part of an offensive line like no other. They are also part of the special teams unit, which has devastating results against teams in the penalty box. In the regular season, their powerplay scored 26.3% of the time. In the playoffs, they’ve increased that average to 37.3%, which is over a third of the time.
The Panthers have a tremendous penalty-killing unit, but they are also one of the most penalized teams in the league. It will be interesting to see if Florida’s penalties affect the outcome of this series.
The Edmonton Oilers have not won a Cup in the Connor McDavid era, while the Florida Panthers franchise has never won a Cup, but they have the experience, having played in the Finals last season.
Whichever way this series plays out, it is shaping up to be a close one that should go to at least six games. This will give your sports fans ample opportunities to place bets on the outcome and plenty of prop bets.
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