The Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers meet Thursday in Game 3 of the NHL Stanley Cup Final at the Rogers Place. Here’s a Edmonton Oilers vs Florida Panthers Prediction.
Florida Panthers Betting Preview
The Florida Panthers have won 5 straight games and look to take an overwhelming 3-0 series lead. The Panthers are 5-1 on the road in these NHL playoffs. The Florida Panthers are averaging 3.26 goals per game and are scoring on 22.1 percent of their power play opportunities. Carter Verhaeghe leads Florida with 10 goals, Matthew Tkachuk has 14 assists and Sam Reinhart has 68 shots on goal. Defensively, the Florida Panthers are allowing 2.11 goals per game and are killing 89.7 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Sergei Bobrovsky has allowed 39 goals on 466 shots faced.
Edmonton Oilers Betting Preview
The Edmonton Oilers have split their last 8 games and need a win to have any realistic chance of winning this series. The Oilers are 6-3 at home in these NHL playoffs. The Edmonton Oilers are averaging 3.2 goals per game and are scoring on 32.8 percent of their power play opportunities. Zach Hyman leads Edmonton with 14 goals, Connor McDavid has 27 assists and Leon Draisaitl has 63 shots on goal. Defensively, the Edmonton Oilers are allowing 2.7 goals per game and are killing 93 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Stuart Skinner has given up 45 goals on 434 shots faced, and Calvin Packard has allowed 5 goals on 59 shots.
Edmonton Oilers vs Florida Panthers Injury Report
Evander Kane and Darnell Nurse are questionable for the Oilers with hip injuries. Aleksander Barkov is questionable for the Panthers with an upper body injury. However, Barkov practiced on Wednesday, so I’d expect him to play barring any setback.
Why the Florida Panthers will win
- The Panthers have won seven of their last eight night games.
- The Oilers have lost 10 of their last 15 games as home favorites against opponents on a winning streak.
- The Panthers have covered the puck line in 13 of their last 14 games as underdogs.
- The Oilers have failed to cover the puck line in eight of their last nine games against Atlantic Division opponents.
- The Panthers have won the third period in each of their last six road games following a home win.
Edmonton Oilers Player Prop Facts
- Leon Draisaitl has scored a goal in each of the Oilers’ last four games as favorites against Atlantic Division opponents.
- Evan Bouchard has recorded at least one assist in each of the Oilers’ last four games as favorites against Atlantic Division opponents.
- Evan Bouchard has recorded at least one point in each of the Oilers’ last seven home playoff games.
- Connor McDavid ranks T1st in the league for Assists (100) this season.
Florida Panthers Player Prop Facts
- Matthew Tkachuk has scored the first goal in each of the Panthers’ last three games as underdogs.
- Sam Reinhart has scored at least one goal in seven of the Panthers’ last eight Game 3s of a playoff series.
- Oliver Ekman-Larsson has recorded an assist in five of the Panthers’ last six games against Pacific Division opponents.
- Sam Bennett has recorded at least one point in each of the Panthers’ last seven night playoff games.
- Sam Reinhart ranks 1st in the league for Power Play Goals (27) this season.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Edmonton Oilers rank 3rd in the league in power play percentage this season (26.45%).
- The Edmonton Oilers rank 4th in the league for goals per game this season (3.56).
- The Florida Panthers rank T1st in the league for goals against per game this season (2.41).
- The Florida Panthers rank 6th in the league in penalty kill percentage this season (82.47%).
Edmonton Oilers vs Florida Panthers Prediction
The Edmonton Oilers are getting the benefit of the doubt because they’re at home and down 0-2 in the series. If the Oilers have any shot of winning the title, this is a must win, and they’re 34-11-5 at home this season. However, the Panthers are the better team from top to bottom, and we’re getting plus money with them. The Panthers have won 4 straight games against the Oilers and have outscored them 17-5 during that span. The Panthers have also been road warriors this season, which includes a 32-12-5 record overall. You could argue the Panthers have played some of their best hockey on the road. I’m assuming Aleksander Barkov is going to play, but check the injury report before locking in anything. Still, the value is with the Panthers and the plus money in game 3.