Stanley Cup Finals Betting Update
The Stanley Cup Finals are underway as the first two games have taken place down in the Sunshine State. With the distance between the two cities representing the teams, the league decided to add an extra day for travel between the cities, which means Game 3 gets underway Thursday night in Edmonton at Rogers Place. We saw Florida take care of business at home, including prevailing in a chippy Game 2 that saw plenty of physicality and bad blood between the squads. Let’s take a look at where things stand right now and how they might unfold going forward.
Stanley Cup Finals: Edmonton Oilers vs. Florida Panthers
Current Status: Panthers lead the series, two games to none.
Previous Results: Game 1 @ Panthers: Panthers 3-0, Game 2 @ Panthers: Panthers 4-1
Remaining Games: Game 3 @ Oilers June 13, Game 4 @ Oilers June 15, Game 5 @ Panthers June 18 (if necessary), Game 6 @ Oilers June 21 (if necessary), Game 7 @ Panthers June 24 (if necessary)
Current Odds to Win Series: Panthers -450, Oilers +360
These odds have shifted dramatically after the first two games in the series. Before the series began, Florida was going off as a -135 favorite with the Oilers going off as +115 underdogs. However, after seeing the Oilers muster all of one goal in the first two games of the series, we’ve seen the Panthers’ odds more than triple to the point where they are now a prohibitive -450 favorite heading into Game 3 of the series. While the presumptive champion has seen the odds shift dramatically, the odds as far as the length of the series haven’t been quite as steep. When we talked about the series prior to the start last week, we saw the price going at +200 for the set to go six games. That line is now up to +280. A four-game sweep would go at +300, while five games sits at +240 and seven games is currently at +265. We originally got a price of +160 for the Panthers series spread at -1.5, meaning that they would not only win the series, but prevail by at least two games. That number has crumbled to -220 ahead of Game 3.
As far as series player props go, things haven’t really panned out though there is still time to turn things around. When it came to identifying the top options for leading the series in points, we identified Leon Draisaitl (+330) and Matthew Tkachuk (+900) ahead of the series. Neither player has managed to put a point on the scoresheet in the first two games of the series. As a result, Draisaitl has dropped to +800 odds while Tkachuk sits at +1800 entering Game 3. Seeing that the top scorer has three points in the series, anything is still possible at this stage of the game.
When it came to identifying the top goal scorer options in the series, we tabbed Carter Verhaeghe at +550 and Zach Hyman at +360 before things started. Verhaeghe is part of a five-way tie for second in the series with one goal each as only Evan Rodrigues (three) has put multiple goals on the board so far. Hyman has yet to light the lamp as Mattias Ekholm is the lone Oiler to dent the twine so far in the series. Still, these two go off with the second and third-best odds in the series with Verhaeghe at +425 and Hyman at +800 while Rodrigues sits at +150 after scoring on each of his three shots.
Our best read so far has come in the Conn Smythe voting for playoff MVP. Prior to the series, we identified Sergei Bobrovsky (+450) for the Panthers and Connor McDavid (+200) for the Oilers as the top options. After the first two games, where Bobrovsky has posted a .980 save percentage and a 0.50 GAA, he has shifted into the favorite position for the award. His odds shifted from +450 to -200 at this point while McDavid has shifted into a tie for second at +500 with Florida’s Aleksander Barkov, who was knocked out of Game 2 after a head shot by Draisaitl. He did practice Wednesday and is trending toward being able to take the ice in Game 3, a major boost for the Panthers.
The Stanley Cup Finals continue with Game 3 on Thursday, June 13 from Rogers Place in Edmonton. It’s not too late to get your bets down so don’t hesitate: get on the ice and take your shot to dent the twine here!
