Avery Perri

The Stanley Cup Final heads to Sunrise tied after the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers traded a pair of overtime wins to start the series.

The pregame narrative: Brad Marchand’s double-OT winner on Saturday puts Florida in the driver’s seat to retain the Stanley Cup. The Panthers are favoured to win this game and the series, with home-ice advantage in what is now a best-of-five series.

Check out my Oilers vs. Panthers SGP predictions, featuring Sam Bennett and Evan Bouchard.

Oilers vs. Panthers predictions

Parlay: Oilers +1.5 | Bennett 1+ points | Bouchard 1+ points (+300)

Oilers +1.5 (-210): If the first two games are any indication of how the rest of this series will go, hockey fans are in for a treat.

Edmonton and Florida have gone blow-for-blow for 167:34, with each team securing a nail-biting win. The Panthers are deserving favourites back on home ice, but I can’t see a blowout on Monday.

• Since losing the first two games of the postseason, the Oilers are 13-3, covering a +1.5 puck line in 15 of those games.

• Florida is a mediocre 4-3 at home, going 3-4 vs. a -1.5 line.

Sergei Bobrovsky provides a distinct goaltending advantage for Paul Maurice’s squad, but Kris Knoblauch’s group has the best two offensive players on the ice — by a mile.

The Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl-led Oilers have generated 58.57% of high-danger chances thus far, per Natural Stat Trick. I expect them to put forth a monster effort.

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NHL SGP legs

Bennett 1+ points (-165): Bennett has been dynamite for the Panthers, and me, this postseason.

• He’s leading Florida in goals (13) and points (19) in the playoffs.

• Bennett also paces the Panthers in xG (8.15), shots (59), and scoring chances (67).

• He has a point in nine of his last 12 games (13 total points) and has three goals in the first two games of this series.

The second-line centre helped me cash a +440 SGP in Game 1 and a +300 SGP in Game 2 by recording a point — I’ll happily go back to the well on Monday.

Bouchard 1+ points (-165): I’m keen on backing Bouchard as long as the price is right.

The 25-year-old defenceman has been a playoff menace for the Oilers, with 79 points in 71 games. That 1.113 PPG pace is the second-best mark ever by a defenceman, behind Bobby Orr.

Bouchard had a goal and two assists in Saturday’s overtime loss after logging an assist in Game 1.

Knoblauch has given him the green light to let it fly, too. The rearguard leads the Oilers in shots (15) and shot attempts (28) this series.

Playoff goals are often messy, and firing pucks on net is a great way to get a greasy assist or screen goal.

Oilers vs. Panthers predictions made at 10:08 a.m. ET 06/09/2025.

The Stanley Cup Final continues on Friday, and the Edmonton Oilers are favoured to take a 2-0 lead.

The pregame narrative: Edmonton looks to capitalize on home ice, where it has gone a stellar 7-1 this postseason, one more time before heading south. But the Florida Panthers have been dominant on the road during their three straight Cup Final appearances and have been in this spot before.

Check out my Panthers vs. Oilers SGP predictions, featuring Sam Bennett and Evan Bouchard.

Panthers vs. Oilers predictions

Parlay: Panthers +1.5 | Bennett 1+ points | Bouchard 1+ points (+300)

Panthers +1.5 (-235): Florida was hanging on for dear life in overtime before Leon Draisaitl stuck a fork in ’em. But I expect some serious pushback from this seasoned group and wouldn’t be surprised if they won Game 2 handily.

The Panthers are 8-3 on the road this postseason, covering a +1.5 puck line in all of those games.

They’re averaging 4.63 goals per game in those contests and have only lost back-to-back games once in the playoffs.

Edmonton is a force to be reckoned with at home, but Kris Knoblauch’s group was still outplayed for stretches of the opener and needed a late goal to force overtime.

If the Oilers take a 2-0 lead, it won’t be stress-free.

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NHL SGP legs

Bennett 1+ points (-139): I cashed a +440 SGP in Game 1 involving Bennett logging a point and will happily run it back while playing this as a standalone. The man is on fire.

• Bennett is leading the Panthers in goals (12) and points (18) in the playoffs after scoring a pair of goals in Game 1.

• The centre also paces the team in xG (7.88), shots (56), and scoring chances (110), per Natural Stat Trick.

Bennett has cashed this wager in eight of his last 11 games and skates alongside Matthew Tkachuk, who found his footing against the Carolina Hurricanes in the ECF.

He’s not the flashiest player, but Bennett has mastered the art of getting greasy goals in the playoffs. I’ll keep riding until proven otherwise.

Bouchard 1+ points (-175): Bouchard is only 25 years old, but he’s flying up the all-time playoff points list for defencemen.

He sits 32nd with 76 points in 70 games and is second in playoff points per game (1.086) by a d-man. The one person ahead of him? Bobby Orr.

Bouchard logged an assist in the series opener and has now cashed this bet in four of his last six games.

He led the Oilers in shots (seven) and shot attempts (14), which makes him a great candidate to score on a screen or log an assist via tip or rebound.

Panthers vs. Oilers predictions made at 11:02 a.m. ET 06/06/2025.

The Stanley Cup Final continues in Edmonton on Friday following a spectacular series opener.

The pregame narrative: The Florida Panthers had won 31 straight playoff games after leading through the first or second period until Leon Draisaitl scored his overtime winner on Wednesday. Now, the Edmonton Oilers are favoured to win Game 2 on home ice, where they are 7-1 this postseason.

Check out my Panthers vs. Oilers best bets for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, featuring Corey Perry.

Panthers vs. Oilers best bets

Best Bet: Over 6 goals (-122)

I’m comfortable taking the over on this number anytime the Oilers play at home — and that’s simply because they’re going to score.

Edmonton has netted at least three goals in all eight of its home playoff games. In those contests, it is averaging 4.63 goals per game, and the over is 6-2 against this line.

Draisaitl and Connor McDavid are one of the best duos we’ve ever seen in the playoffs, and they led the charge on Wednesday with two points apiece.

I don’t think anyone or anybody is capable of stopping them right now.

That said, I expect some pushback from the Panthers, who have been on an offensive rampage of their own. Florida is averaging 4.0 goals per game since the beginning of the Eastern Conference Final, and the over is 4-2-0 against this line.

Stuart Skinner was good when it mattered last night, but I still don’t trust him to keep scoring down.

This should be a track meet.

Key stat: The over is 5-0-1 against this line in Edmonton dating back to last year’s Stanley Cup Final.

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Stanley Cup Final Game 2 picks

Perry 1+ points (+102): Perry is the most seasoned veteran in the league, and he’s riding shotgun with one of the best players of all time. That sounds like a good combination to me.

The Perry-McDavid-Draisaitl line played 9:36 together in Game 1, generating a 70.83% Corsi rate and four scoring chances.

Perry also logged 6:46 with McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and receives top power-play minutes.

Anytime Perry is on the ice, McDavid is right beside him. In overtime, the 40-year-old recorded a secondary assist on Draisaitl’s game-winning goal.

Perry has points in three consecutive games since being moved up the lineup after Zach Hyman’s injury.

Panthers vs. Oilers best bets made at 12:25 p.m. ET 06/05/2025.