NHL Best Bets
Winner takes all, the best two words in sports – Game 7. Nothing else needs to be said. Let’s get into our NHL Best Bets.
Edmonton at Florida (-112, 5.5)
The Florida Panthers have one more chance to avoid being on the wrong side of history. It’s hard to imagine that anyone could seen this coming after they took a chokehold of a 3-0 series lead. Only one other team in the history of the NHL has come back from this deficit: the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs. It’s hard to deny that the mojo feels like Edmonton will be the second team to accomplish this feat.
The Oilers have won three straight games, clawing themselves out of a hole that seemed impossible, but now they need one more win to etch their names in the history books and on Lord Stanley.
How can you bet against Connor McDavid now? He has 11 points in the six games in this series – unreal.
McDavid may not have registered a point in Game 6, but guys like Mattias Janmark and Adam Henrique were the depth players who stepped up when needed most. Stuart Skinner has been the better of the two goalies, and the Oilers penalty kill has continued to shut down the Panthers’ power play. It’s hard to look at Florida and say they have anything in their favor going into Game 7, and despite being on home ice, the pressure is all on them.
If you’ve been watching the last three games, Florida looks like a completely different team. The Oilers have figured them out and have been using their speed all over the ice, winning battles, and most importantly – finishing on their chances.
At this point in the series, Sergei Bobrovsky can’t be trusted with how he has played since Game 4. He has allowed 12 goals on just 58 shots faced and has skated to a .793 save percentage. What happened to the Bobrovsky we saw throughout the playoffs? The answers aren’t there, but I’ll tell you what – Stuart Skinner has looked pretty damn good in the opposite crease.
It feels like everyone in the hockey world can now sense McDavid and the Oilers’ destiny, and I do not want to be the guy who bets against them.
I said Oilers in 7 before the series started. Granted, this isn’t how I pictured it happening, but the Stanley Cup will return to Canada for the first time since 1993.
NHL Best Bet: Edmonton Oilers ML -108 (play to -120)
June Record: 10-18 (-11.65 units)
2023-24 record: 201–194 (-25.47units)
