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The Oilers are on the precipice of history. The Panthers are staring down infamy.
With a win in Game 7 on Monday night, Edmonton would become the first team since the Maple Leafs in 1942 to overcome a 3-0 series deficit and win the Stanley Cup Final.
Momentum is clearly on the side of the Oilers and the betting market is unsurprisingly buying into it with their odds sitting at -110 for Monday’s winner-take-all in Sunrise, Fla.
Before we get to our best bets, here are the latest odds for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final:
Oilers vs. Panthers Game 7 odds
- Moneyline: Oilers -110, Panthers -110
- Puck Line: Oilers +1.5 (-275), Panthers -1.5 (+225)
- Total: Over 5.5 (+125), Under 5.5 (-150)
Odds via BetMGM
Oilers vs. Panthers Game 7 best bets
By Michael Leboff
It’s natural to think Game 7 is going to be a tight, low-scoring affair. It is a pressure-cooker and by this time the two teams know one another quite well. They’re also sick of each other at this point.
And while Game 7′s do tend to be low-scoring contests and that trend hasn’t changed this spring, it should be noted that there have only been three of them in the Stanley Cup Final since 2009 and two were duds.
These standalone games (like the Super Bowl or a Champions League Final), there will always be value going against the grain. And in this case, that means backing the Panthers to exhale and run rampant over the Oilers.
Up until Game 4, the Panthers have been sensational in the postseason. And while they have a lot of issues to sort out ahead of Monday’s puck drop, it’s not like they’ve just turned into a bad team overnight. There’s every chance that Florida gets its act together and wins this contest. And if they do have their A-game, there’s certainly plenty of avenues to a blowout.
Leboff’s best bet: Panthers -1.5 (+235 at DraftKings)
By Sean Treppedi
Two entirely different hockey series, each having highlighted the respective strong suits of the Panthers and Oilers, will come to a head in Game 7.
The first featured the Panthers muzzling the Oilers with its hard-wearing balance and defensive structure while Sergei Bobrovsky delivered lights-out goaltending.
That vanished in the second string of three games as the Oilers exploded for an 18-5 scoring advantage. Their power play awoke to tally three goals in 13 opportunities all while top talents cashed in when prime chances presented themselves.
Bobrovsky has slipped to a 2.98 goals-against average in this series. Stuart Skinner, while having reeled in his game after three starts below a .900 save percentage, owns 16 expected goals against to Bobrovky’s 13.4, according to Natural Stat Trick.
The over has cashed in four straight games, leading to 61% of sharp action placed on it for Game 7.
Two empty-net goals cushioned Game 6 as five of them have now been scored in a series averaging 6.33 total per game. If things come down to the wire with everything on the line, aggressive strategies with an extra attacker added earlier are likely, adding more potential to clear another low-goal total.
Everything about this volatile matchup where both sides have committed over 20 turnovers per game points to the Cup being won with a bang.
Treppedi’s best bet: Over 5.5 goals (+130 at Caesars)
