Oilers vs Panthers Picks and Prediction – 6/9/2024

Edmonton Oilers at Florida Panthers Prediction

The Edmonton Oilers visit Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida on Saturday to play the Florida Panthers in Game 1 of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals best-of-seven series. The opening face-off will occur at 8:00 PM ET and the game will be televised on abc/ESPN+. Edmonton reached the Stanley Cup finals with a 4-2 series victory over the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Finals. Florida defeated the New York Rangers 4-2 in the Eastern Conference Finals series. Make sure you stay up to date with all the NHL action, with our expert NHL picks.

Edmonton Oilers Preview

Edmonton fell behind in its Western Conference Finals series with Dallas 2-1 but proceeded to win three straight to clinch the series. Edmonton is known for its excellent attack but the blue line and goaltending for the Oilers came through in the Conference Finals with a goals against average in the six games of only 2.40.

During the regular season, Edmonton was 49-27-6, with 104 points, finishing second in the Pacific Division. Leading up to the Stanley Cup Finals, Edmonton has a goals for average of 3.50 per game, which is second highest in the postseason, in 18 playoff games and has taken an average of 28.8 shots per game. Edmonton is scoring 37.3% of the time on the power play. Zach Hyman is the leading goal scorer during the playoffs for Edmonton with 14. Connor McDavid is the leader in assists with 26 and is the points leader with 31, while Leon Draisaitl is second in points with 28 (10 goals, 18 assists).  

Edmonton is eighth in goals against at 2.61 per game during the playoffs. Edmonton goalie Stuart Skinner was 36-16-5 with a goals against average of 2.62 and save percentage of .905, during the regular season. In 16 playoff games, Skinner is 11-5 with a GAA of 2.50 and a save percentage of .897.

Florida Panthers Preview

The Florida Panthers also took a similar route to reaching the Stanley Cup finals when falling behind in the Eastern Conference Finals 2-1 to the New York Rangers but proceeded to win three straight to clinch the series 4-2. Florida also played well defensively with a goals against of 2.40 in the six-game series versus the Rangers. 

The Florida Panthers were 52-24-6 with 110 points during the regular season, which was first in the Atlantic Division and second in the Eastern Conference. Florida is 4th during the playoffs in goals for with an average of 3.24. The Panthers are averaging 33.2 shots per game and Florida is scoring on 23.3% of its power plays. Carter Verhaeghe is the leading goal scorer for Florida during the postseason with nine and Sam Reinhart is second with eight. Matthew Tkachuk is the leader in assists with 14 and the points leader with 19, while two others have 17 points each.

Florida has a goals against average during the postseason of 2.29. Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky was 36-17-4 with a 2.37 goals against average and a .915 save percentage during the regular season. In 17 games in the playoffs leading up to the Stanley Cup Finals, Bobrovsky is 12-5 with a 2.20 GAA and .908 save percentage.