The Florida Panthers cruised past the Edmonton Oilers 5-2 in Saturday's pivotal Game 5 showdown in Alberta, giving them a 3-2 series lead in the Stanley Cup Final. They're now one victory away from hoisting the Cup for a second consecutive year. Below, I'll touch on the Game 6 odds and give you my betting opinion on whether or not the Cats can close out the series tonight. This contest gets underway at 8:00 p.m. ET from Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, FL.
Tuesday’s NHL Best Bets & Picks: Oilers vs. Panthers
(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)
Edmonton Oilers (+125) vs. Florida Panthers (-150) | O/U 6.5 (-106/-114)
This series is over. If you've been following me or reading any of my analysis on this matchup, then forgive me for sounding like a broken record. The Oilers may have the edge in high-end talent with the Draisaitl-McDavid duo, but the Panthers are much deeper and clearly the more well-rounded team in the Final.
Edmonton's penalty-killing unit has been a liability, as they're ranked 14th out of the 16 playoff teams at 67.14%. Florida is first in the category at 86.42%. It also doesn't help that the Oilers are averaging 7.68 penalty minutes per game, which is the ninth-most in the postseason.
In terms of overall GAA, the Panthers are first as well, allowing only 2.37 goals per 60 minutes. The Oilers are 10th (3.0). This leads me into my next point, which is that Edmonton has a goaltending dilemma heading into the most important game of the year. Who knows who they'll ride with in net tonight, but whether it's Stuart Skinner and his 2.99 GAA and .891 SV%, or Calvin Pickard and his 2.85 GAA and .886 SV%, I'd say it's unlikely that either guy will find Stanley Cup-caliber form on the road in a closeout game. Give me the Panthers on the moneyline at -150 to close this series out tonight.
Pick: Panthers Moneyline (-150)
