On Thursday, we head to Edmonton for Game 3 of the NHL Stanley Cup Final, where the Oilers are trailing 2-0 in the series and fighting for a playoff spot.
It was a long and eventful flight to Canada for the Panthers, with storms in South Florida delaying their arrival in Edmonton until late Wednesday.
This could work against the Panthers, as the Oilers left Sunrise, Fla., well before Tuesday’s storm.
FanDuel Sportsbook has the Oilers as the -138 favorite to win, with the Panthers at +115 to make the upset.
It’s a must-win at this stage for Edmonton, as a 3-0 deficit is all but impossible to overcome.
Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov was injured in Game 2 and is uncertain for Game 3, so we’ll be keeping an eye on him to see if he’s available for the Panthers.
Panthers vs. Oilers Game 3 Predictions
(8 p.m. ET, ABC)
Barkov practiced on Wednesday and has not been ruled out as missing Thursday’s game.
If he plays, it will certainly hurt the Panthers’ chances of winning heading into Game 3.
Barkov is a key piece of the puzzle for a star-studded Panthers team that includes a stout defense that has thwarted the league’s best Oilers offense.
After a 3-0 loss in Game 1, the Money Pac gave the Oilers a glowing 92 percent chance of winning.
In Game 2, a seemingly hopeless defeat, those numbers plummeted.
Look out for the defensive prowess combined with the great performance of goalkeeper Sergei Bobrovsky.
They had few scoring chances in Game 2 and have only scored one goal in the two games of this series.
Being a home game will undoubtedly favor the Oilers in Game 3, and bookmakers will be banking on a rebound performance.
The Oilers have a record of 28 wins, nine losses and four ties at home this year, so a raucous crowd is expected on Thursday.
It’s tough to miss out on an Edmonton win at home tonight, but betting on whether the game goes into overtime is worth a shot at +300 odds.
With the Oilers looking to get their offense back on track, bettors should expect Edmonton second line forward Evander Kane to have a strong night.
Betting on Kane taking more than 1.5 shots is -145 on DraftKings and BetMGM, making him a good bet tonight despite his poor play this series.
He has been held to zero shots on goal in this series, but was 11-4 toward the over before Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals.
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He has lost five straight games and is 11-9, but he is too important to the Oilers’ game plan to be totally irrelevant.
Pick: Evander Kane over 1.5 shots (-145, BetMGM) | 60-minute line: Draw (+300, DraftKings)
