The Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers meet Saturday in Game 1 of their best-of-7 Stanley Cup Final. Puck drop from Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla., is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET (ABC/ESPN+). Below, we analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Oilers vs. Panthers odds, and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.
The Oilers are back in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2006, when Edmonton lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in 7 games. Edmonton polished off the Los Angeles Kings in 5 games in the 1st round, before taking care of the Vancouver Canucks in 7 games in the 2nd round. In the Western Conference Final, the Oilers upended the Dallas Stars in 6 games, including wins in each of the previous 3 outings. The Under is on a 7-2-1 run in the past 10 postseason games for the Oilers, too.
Connor McDavid leads the team 26 assists and 31 points in just 18 postseason games, while chipping in with 5 goals, including 2 on the power play, with 12 assists on the man advantage. Leon Draisaitl has 10 goals with 28 points, while notching 6 power-play goals, and Evan Bouchard is nipping at their heels with 21 helpers and 27 points to go along with a team-high plus-14 rating.
The Panthers are back in the Stanley Cup Final for the 2nd straight season. They lost to the Vegas Golden Knights last season, and Florida has lost both times in the Stanley Cup Final in franchise history.