Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals is set to take place on Thursday. The Florida Panthers are on the road at the Edmonton Oilers. The Florida Panthers lead the series 2-0, and look to win this game, and move a game away from being champions for the 2023-2024 season. Florida has gone 14-6 in the postseason, by eliminating the Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers to this point. Florida went 52-24-6 in the regular season, and won the Atlantic Division crown.
For the Edmonton Oilers, they went 49-27-6 in the regular season. The Oilers have taken down the Los Angeles Kings, Vancouver Canucks and Dallas Stars so far in the postseason. They are 12-9 in those games so far.
The Edmonton Oilers are -135 at home over the Florida Panthers in this game. The total for this affair is set at 5.5 goals.
Florida Looking for More of the Same
The Florida Panthers are red hot right now, with several guys taking over in key roles. Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov lead the offensive charge, both with 19 points in the postseason. Barkov is doubtful for this game with an injury that occurred during the game 2 win.
Carter Verhaeghe has been strong as well with 10 goals and 8 assists in the postseason. Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett have also put together a nice postseason run. Florida, during the regular season was led by Reinhart, with 57 goals. 27 of them came via the power play. Reinhart also dished out 37 assists.
The Panthers have also been one of the top defensive teams in the National Hockey League. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky has played in every game so far. He has allowed 2 or less goals in each of his last five starts. During the regular season, the Panthers were elite on defense, as they allowed 2.41 goals per game
Edmonton Seeking to Get Back on Track
The Edmonton Oilers know they have to get their offense back on track. They have to do it quickly, or their chances of winning a Stanley Cup will be over. The Oilers scored 3.56 goals per game in the regular season. So far in this series, they have just one total goal. That came in Game 2, as Mattias Ekholm put the Oilers ahead.
Make no mistake about it, this is still an incredible offensive team. In fact, the postseason will end with the Oilers having the top three point scorers. Connor McDavid has 32 points, while Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard are next, with 28.
The Oilers will look to help out their goaltender Stuart Skinner a bit. He had 25 saves in Game 2, but just 15 in Game 1. Skinner has played every game for the Oilers since May 18 against the Canucks.
Oilers Top Panthers
The Edmonton Oilers are back home. From Edmonton to Florida, from Florida to Edmonton. What a haul for both teams. In the end, the Oilers back at home is going to give them life. They are going to have a chance in this series. The Oilers win this game and stay alive, going down 2-1 in the series. Take the Edmonton Oilers -135 over the Florida Panthers in this Game 3 on Thursday.
