Stanley Cup Finals Preview: Panthers And Knights Destined For Seven Game Series

After a month and a half of playoff hockey, we have finally arrived at the precipice as the Stanley Cup Final begins on Friday. With 30 NHL teams having already started their summers, only the Florida Panthers and the Vegas Golden Knights remain as they now each sit just four wins away from hoisting the Stanley Cup. Neither franchise has ever won the Cup before which only adds more intrigue to the storylines that already surround the showdown. 

As one would expect from a Stanley Cup Final matchup the odds for each team are very close. Currently, the Golden Knights are slight favorites at -135 with the Panthers behind them at +115. Vegas had the better regular season giving them home-ice advantage in the series which is likely one of the main reasons they are favored. The Golden Knights are 6-3 in Vegas so far this postseason going 2-1 at home in each of their previous three series. 

This series seems to project as a coin flip with both teams firing on all cylinders thus far in the postseason and for the most part dominating their opposition. In what seems to be a recurring theme in nearly every playoff series, the Stanley Cup Champion could be decided by goaltending. Sergei Bobrovsky has been absolutely lights out this postseason with a record of 11-2 and a GAA of just 1.90 in his last 10. Vegas’ Adin Hill has also found success in the playoffs as since taking over the starting duties in game three against Edmonton he has led the team to a 7-3 record while recording three shutouts. 

Both teams are deep and playing their best hockey at the right time. Because of this, I think this series will go to seven games with a couple of overtime periods along the way. Ultimately, I would side with the plus money and take the Florida Panthers to get the job done. 

Conn Smythe Odds

With the two Cup Finalists now 100% certain, the Conn Smythe odds are really starting to take shape. Three names have separated themselves from the pack and it is overwhelmingly likely that a member of this group will ultimately take home the honors, though not a certainty. 

As has been the case for some time now, Sergei Bobrovsky is the favorite to win the Conn Smythe Trophy. At +200 his odds have consistently been moving lower and lower over the past couple of weeks as his unbelievable play has continued. As mentioned earlier he is 11-2 in the playoffs and has a GAA of 1.90 in his last 10 games. Game Four against Carolina, in which he gave up three goals, was the first time in nine games that he had allowed more than two goals in a game. Bobrovsky has rewound the clock and the two-time Vezina winner looks as unstoppable as ever. 

Matthew Tkachuk comes in behind Bobrovsky at +325. Tkachuk was the best player for the Panthers throughout the whole year and continued that into the postseason with a team-leading 21 points in their 16 playoff games. His value was never more apparent than in the Eastern Conference Finals where he scored overtime winners in games one and two along with a game-winner in game four with just 4 seconds remaining. 

Jack Eichel is the third member of the lead group at +375. Should his Golden Knights win the Cup, at this point it seems to be a near lock that he would win the award. He leads the team in points with 18 despite a somewhat quiet series against the Stars where he managed just four assists. He will have to be at his best offensively for the Knights to lift the Cup giving him the best odds of any member of Vegas. 

Stanley Cup Handoff

A very interesting scene that unfolds every year is seeing who the Captain of the winning team hands the Stanley Cup off to first. Often a Veteran who has been chasing a Cup for a while is the first recipient while sometimes it can simply be handed to whoever the Captain finds to be most deserving. Both these teams have a number of cupless veterans as well as guys who fit the mold of players who have received the Cup first in the past which makes these odds particularly interesting. 

Just like is the case with the Conn Smythe odds, Sergei Bobrovsky is atop the Cup Handoff odds list at +200. Because of the way he has played all postseason and the strange way his career has gone since signing with the Panthers, he seems like almost a sure thing to be given the Cup first should they win. 

Vegas on the other hand has a few guys all with a reasonable shot at being given the honors. 

Both Jonathan Marchessault and Jack Eichel are currently at +500 to be handed the Cup first. For each it is somewhat a case of them being their team's most important player throughout their playoff run as they are one and two on the team in playoff points with Eichel at 18 and Marchessault at 17. Marchessault moves his line even with Eichel’s due to his age and the fact that he has been with the team from the start, while this is only Eichel’s second year as a Golden Knight. 

Following them at +750 is William Karlsson. Karlsson has also been with the Golden Knights since their inception and seems to be one of the cultural leaders of this team. His acceptance of taking on a less glamorous role this year as a third-line center who often has the duty of shutting down the other teams’ top line is the type of sacrifice that leads to players being given the first handoff of the Cup. 

Total Shutouts In The Series Over/Under

As I previously mentioned the two starting goalies in this season have been playing exceptionally well as of late. Along with this, both these teams have been playing a physical and structured style of play all postseason which has led to a number of low-scoring games. 

The oddsmakers have the Over/Under for the number of shutouts in the series set at 0.5. The under is currently favored at -130 while the over sits at +100. 

To me, the ability to bet one of these goalies to get a shutout at some point during this series at even odds is a no-brainer. 

Against the Dallas Stars in the Conference Finals, the Golden Knights were able to keep them from finding the back of the net twice in the six-game series. The Panthers also had defensive success in the Conference Finals shutting out the Hurricanes once and holding them to just one goal on another occasion. 

Not only has each team shown the obvious ability to shut down their opposition and limit scoring chances, but neither has been particularly proficient offensively either. The Panthers scored just ten goals in their four game sweep of Carolina which included two overtime winners. Vegas ended up scoring a lot in their series but the goal totals are skewed from ten combined in games three and six in which each game the Stars looked to have given up. In the series’ other four games Vegas scored just 11 goals of which two came in a pair of overtimes. 

Because of the elite goaltending and defensive play that we’ve seen in the postseason coupled with the lack of high-flying offense I think over 0.5 shutouts in the series is the way to go.