Oilers vs Panthers Odds & Score Prediction in Stanley Cup Game 3

Are we going to get a competitive Stanley Cup Finals? That question will be answered on Thursday night in Game 3 as the series shifts to Edmonton with the Oilers down 2-0 in the series and 0-4 overall this season against the Florida Panthers, who are underdogs on the NHL odds.

Florida Panthers Betting Odds +102

Coach Paul Maurice, and other Panthers players, did not give answers on whether or not they thought Draisaitl’s hit on Barkov was dirty.

Young center Anton Lundell could step up and play a key role in Barkov’s absence if need be. The 21-year-old Finn has three goals and 14 points in 19 games this postseason. He also plays high quality defense in his own end of the ice.

The offensive star of Game 2 was Evan Rodrigues with two goals. Rodrigues extended his point streak to three games and goal streak to two contests thanks to Monday’s performance. He became the first player in Panthers history with a multi-goal game in the Finals. His three goals in two games this series have matched his total from Florida’s 17 games in the first three rounds. Rodrigues has proven to be an important part of Florida’s attack — he’s currently playing alongside Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett on the second line. Rodrigues has outscored Edmonton’s star trio of Connor McDavid, Draisaitl and Zach Hyman, who combined for 127 regular-season goals, by a total of 3-0 in these Finals. Rodrigues is one of 11 players since 1997 to score in each of his first two career appearances in the Stanley Cup Finals.

“So happy for him, proud of him,” said Tkachuk, whose line Rodrigues joined during the Eastern Conference final series against the New York Rangers “Playing with him the last few games, he reads the game so well. That’s two games in a row scoring some big goals for us. He’s a super smart player, and I’m really happy to see him get rewarded right now.”

After the Panthers out shot the Oilers 22-7 through two periods of Game 2, Sergei Bobrovsky denied all 12 shots on goal by Edmonton in the third period to turn out his third consecutive outing allowing one goal or fewer. He is the first goaltender in 16 years to yield one or fewer goals against through the first two games of the Final.

Edmonton Oilers Betting Odds -124

They also have the top-goal scorer in the playoffs: forward Zach Hyman (14). Yet they have scored one goal in two games against the Panthers. They haven’t scored at 5-on-5 and are 0-for-7 on the power play.

“I think we generated enough opportunities in the first game, not enough in the second,” coach Kris Knoblauch said. “Obviously, we’ll look at special teams. That’s such an important part of the game, because each team is always making adjustments quite a bit throughout a series, so whether things are going well or poorly, special teams are something we spend a lot of emphasis on.”

Draisaitl was lucky he wasn’t suspended for Game 3 after a questionable hit in Game 2 on Florida star forward Aleksander Barkov. With the Panthers leading 2-1 in the third period, Barkov played the puck in his defensive zone. Draisaitl came in on the forecheck, left his skates, and his elbow contacted Barkov’s jaw. The Florida captain fell to the ice, was tended to by medical staff, and then left for the trainers’ room.

He has no points in the final. In the previous seven games, he had 13 points, four of them goals. Superstar center Connor McDavid has just one assist and no goals through two games against Florida, most of his ice time spent playing against Barkov and the defense pairing of Gustav Forsling and Aaron Ekblad. He, too, has to be better and less distracted for the Oilers to get a win.

McDavid notched his first career Stanley Cup Finals point with an assist on the opening goal of Game 2 and will look to help his club continue a recent trend that has seen six of the past seven Final games won by the home club.

Edmonton could be without top defense man Darnell Nurse in Game 3. Due to a hip injury, Nurse finished Game 2 with just 4:20 of ice time. He was spotted going between the dressing room and the bench for the majority of the night. Nurse tried to go out onto the ice several times after his initial injury in the first period.

Netminder Stuart Skinner stopped 25 of 28 shots in Monday’s 4-1 loss to Florida. It was only the second time in his last 10 outings that Skinner has allowed more than two goals in a contest. The 25-year-old has an .886 save percentage through two games in this series, which is not good enough. The last time Skinner lost consecutive contests in the 2024 playoff, he won his next three.

Bet Panthers at Oilers NHL Odds

When: Thursday, 8 PM ET
Where: Rogers Place
TV: ABC
Stream: ESPN+
Radio: ESPN radio

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📺: @EdmontonOilers vs. @FlaPanthers Game 3 TOMORROW at 8p ET on ABC, @ESPNPlus, @Sportsnet, Sportsnet+, and @TVASports pic.twitter.com/7LFev7Yc3a
— NHL (@NHL) June 12, 2024