Stanley Cup Final Game 3 Odds, Injuries & Last Minute News for Panthers vs Oilers

Consecutive road losses have the Edmonton Oilers in a must-win spot to avoid falling into an 0-3 hole against the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final. While the Oilers drove possession and largely outplayed the Panthers in Game 1, Florida put on a 200-foot clinic throughout Monday’s 3-1 Game 2 victory.

Add Cats goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky stopping 50 of 51 shots to start the series and cement his case as the betting favorite in the Conn Smythe odds to Florida sporting a 6-2 road record during the playoffs, and Edmonton will have its hands full tonight.

Here’s a peek at betting news and insights for Game 3 to help you prepare your NHL picks for this Panthers vs. Oilers matchup on June 13.

Barkov back

Florida Panthers star center Aleksander Barkov practiced Wednesday and took part in Thursday’s morning skate, so it looks like he’s set to suit up after sustaining an undisclosed injury and leaving Game 2 midway through the third period on Monday. 

He's played a leading role in keeping the Edmonton Oilers in check and holding them to a single goal through the first two games of the series. The Cats did roll with a different set of lines during Thursday’s morning skate, though, with winger Evan Rodrigues jumping to the top line with Barkov and Sam Reinhart. Winger Carter Verhaeghe joined Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk on the second.

Florida head coach Paul Maurice has consistently mixed and matched his forwards throughout the playoffs and during the regular season, so the line juggling isn’t out of the norm. It looks like it will be all systems go for the Cats.

#FlaPanthers lines this AM:

Rodrigues - Barkov - Reinhart
Verhaeghe - Bennett - Tkachuk
Luostarinen - Lundell - Tarasenko
Lorentz - Stenlund - Okposo

Forsling - Ekblad
Mikkola - Montour
OEL - Kulikov

Bobrovsky
Stolarz

— Jameson Olive (@JamesonCoop) June 13, 2024

Oilers set for 11 and seven?

Mum’s the word from Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch on his Game 3 lineup:

Kris Knoblauch on Oilers lineup for tonight: “You’re going to have to wait and find out.” pic.twitter.com/OdMkwb0l2s

— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) June 13, 2024

Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse and winger Evander Kane are both nursing hip injuries. Nurse is expected to be in the lineup but Kane’s status is murky. Additionally, with the risk of Nurse aggravating his injury, having defenseman Cody Ceci return to action as insurance and jumping the boards in a sheltered role is likely.

Of course, going with just 11 forwards also allows Knoblauch to lean on his top scorers for big minutes. Stars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have averaged 25:39 and 23:12 minutes, respectively, through the first two games of this series and they could have their busiest night of the series tonight.

A glance at the odds

Florida's Stanley Cup odds continue to shorten from an opening -125 ahead of the series to -550 following their Game 2 win through BetMGM. There are also interesting betting splits, with the ticket count at an even-steven 50% for both teams, while Florida has taken 82% of the betting handle at the shop.

Edmonton is the popular side for the second consecutive game with 69% of the BetMGM betting handle on the Oilers, and they've moved from -125 to -135 as a result. Additionally, the 5.5-goal total for Game 3 has seen nearly even action on both sides with the Over taking 51% of the betting handle.

Pages related to this topic