And this year, the Eastern Conference Champion Panthers will enter the best-of-seven NHL Finals as the favorite against the Western Conference Finals winner, the Edmonton Oilers, who eliminated the Dallas Stars in six games after dispatching the LA Kings in five games and the Vancouver Canucks in seven.
Current Odds to Win the Stanley Cup Finals (as of 6 p.m. June 8)
If you bet the Panthers to win the Stanley Cup before the 2023-24 season began, you're sitting pretty. Back in September, you stood to win $2,000 on a $100 bet on the hometown icemen. But after being dismissed as underdogs all year long, they now strap on their skates as favorites in the 2024 NHL Finals.BetMGM opened with Florida -125 / Edmonton +105, DraftKings had it Florida -130 / Edmonton +110, FanDuel offered Florida -128 / Edmonton +106, and hometown Hard Rock made it Florida -130 / Edmonton +105.
Some of that edge was due to the Panthers' superior regular-season results — they finished third in the Eastern Conference, while the Oilers ended the campaign fifth in the Western Conference. The Panthers and Oilers faced off twice, with the Panthers winning both times.
And Florida has the home-ice advantage, opening the Stanely Cup series in Sunrise and playing host to a Game Seven if necessary.
Here are the current odds, hours before the puck drops for the series opener:
- BetMGM: Florida -130 / Edmonton +110
- DraftKings: Florida -135 / Edmonton +115
- FanDuel: Florida -134 / Edmonton +112
- Hard Rock: Florida -150 / Edmonton +125
- Caesars: Florida -155 / Edmonton +130
Stanley Cup Finals Schedule
Home games in bold. All times are EDT; all games televised on ABC and ESPN+- Game 1: 8 p.m. Saturday, June 8 (Amerant Bank Arena)
- Game 2: 8 p.m. Monday, June 10 (Amerant Bank Arena)
- Game 3: 8 p.m. Thursday, June 13 (at Rogers Place)
- Game 4: 8 p.m. Saturday, June 15 (at Rogers Place)
- *Game 5: 8 p.m. Tuesday, June 18 (Amerant Bank Arena)
- *Game 6: 8 p.m. Friday, June 21 (at Rogers Place)
- *Game 7: 8 p.m. Monday, June 24 (Amerant Bank Arena)
Match-Up at a Glance
Need the TL;DR on who these teams are and where they've been? We've got you covered. Long story short — the Panthers have never hoisted a Stanley Cup trophy, and the Oilers have not won a championship since MC Hammer was dishing out hits. (For perspective, the Panthers did not even exist then.)Florida Panthers
The Panthers have been to the Finals twice before and left both times with their tails — both cats and rats — between their legs. This time, it seems the team is poised for a different outcome.
- Stanley Cup Wins: None. Zip. Nada.
- Playoff Path: Defeated Lightning 4-1, Bruins 4-2, Rangers 4-2
- Key Players: Sergei Bobrovsky, Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Aaron Ekblad, Sam Reinhart
- Player to Watch: Carter Verhaeghe
- Coach: Paul Maurice, center of Panthers culture
- Panthers Culture Key Note: The Panthers' goalie, Sergei Bobrovsky, has been dominant in the playoffs with a 12-5 record, a .908 save percentage, and a 2.20 goals-against average.
Let's be honest. Most local hockey fans know little about these people outside their realization that it would kill most Canadians inside to know a team from Sunrise, Florida, beat out Edmonton for the Cup. We've heard of Connor McDavid— mostly because ESPN makes sure we all know he's awesome.
- Stanley Cup Wins: 1990, 1988, 1987, 1985, 1984
- Playoff Path: Defeated Kings 4-1, Canucks 4-3, Stars 4-2
- Key Players: Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Stuart Skinner, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Darnell Nurse
- Player to Watch: Evander Kane, who needs to break out of his recent scoring slump
- Coach: Kris Knoblauch, aiming for a championship in his first NHL season as a head coach
- Key Note: The Oilers' balanced attack and strong defense are nasty. Stuart Skinner, in net, has faced just 25.1 shots per game in the playoffs. Their depth scoring and penalty kill are some of their biggest strengths.
Amerant Bank Arena. 1 Panther Pkwy., Sunrise; 954-835-7000; amerantbankarena.com. Tickets via floridapanthers.com.
