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Who’da thunk it? For the next several weeks, Miami is officially a hockey town – again. For the second consecutive year, the Florida Panthers will play for Lord Stanley’s Cup, the coveted prize that goes to the champions of the National Hockey League. The Panthers advanced by dispatching their in-state rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning, in five games and then knocking off the Boston Bruins and the New York Rangers in six.
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 2 p.m. June 11)
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.
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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.
With the Panthers having taken a 2-0 advantage by winning the first two games on home ice in Sunrise, here are the updated series odds:
- BetMGM: Florida -550 / Edmonton +400
- DraftKings: Florida -450 / Edmonton +360
- FanDuel: Florida -490 / Edmonton +365
- Hard Rock: Florida -500 / Edmonton +350
- Caesars: Florida -480 / Edmonton +360
The Oilers are favored to win Game 3 on Thursday in Edmonton, with the money line hovering around -135/+115 – though Hard Rock appears eager to pull in some Oilers money in Hollywood at -125/+105.
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) FINAL SCORE 3-0 PANTHERS
- Game 2: 8 p.m. Monday, June 10 (Amerant Bank Arena) FINAL SCORE 4-1 PANTHERS
- 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)
*if necessary 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 Edmonton OilersMatch-Up at a Glance
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.
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.
Amerant Bank Arena. 1 Panther Pkwy., Sunrise; 954-835-7000; amerantbankarena.com. Tickets via floridapanthers.com.
