The Panel Previews Oilers vs Panthers in Stanley Cup Game 3

Our Oilers vs Panthers Game 3 Picks

The Stanley Cup Final Game 3 takes place on Thursday night as the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers do battle once more (8:00 pm, ABC, ESPN+).

Florida may be the favorite with sports betting sites to win the series, but Edmonton are -135 to be victorious in Game 3.

Edmonton scored first in Game 2 and then Florida tied the game before the third period showed the Panthers to again be the stronger team during the biggest points of the game.

Florida even scored on the man advantage, which snapped a long streak of Edmonton penalty kills.

Edmonton’s duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl grew more and more frustrated as the game went on, which culminated in a questionable Draisaitl hit that leaves Aleksander Barkov a doubt for Thursday.

The Panel has looked at the key stats ahead of Game 3 to provide these three betting predictions.

Florida To Find A Way In Game 3

Unlike the New York Rangers series, Florida have won both Stanley Cup Final games by three goals.

After shutting out Edmonton in Game 1, the Panthers did the same in Game 2, holding the Oilers to 19 shots.

Florida outplayed Edmonton in all phases and while the Oilers still believe in themselves, as do the bookies, the public may have checked out on them already.

Evan Rodrigues added two goals and now has three for the series, vaulting himself into the Conn Smythe conversation.

Rodrigues stands around +5000 to +6000 currently. At any rate, Game 3 features several question marks given the status of certain players.

Barkov suffered what is believed to be an upper-body injury after a high hit from Draisaitl in the last meeting between these two.

Meanwhile, Darnell Nurse wrenched his hip and lower back after absorbing an early check in the first period while Evander Kane has been battling something for a few rounds now.

NHL betting sites will be hoping McDavid and Draisaitl ill be able to ignite Edmonton at home on Thursday night.

The Oilers have still not struck at 5-on-5 this series with Mattias Ekholm’s goal coming during a period of 4-on-4 hockey.

They must generate more sustained pressure and convert when the opportunities present themselves.

Florida usually don't get blown out in the playoffs and don't allow many goals either, yielding 200 during 82 regular-season games.

Understandably, the 1.5-goal spread is a far more scary prospect for Edmonton than with Florida, if truth be told as the Panthers lost their two games in the last round by one goal in overtime.

The Panel feels Game 3 is likely to be close and could even be a one-goal contest that could go either way.

Even if their wounded stars are available, it still may not be enough as Edmonton have further awakened Matthew Tkachuk and company in a way they didn't want to.

Take the Panthers here.

The Panel Pick 1: Florida Panthers To Win Game 3 @ +115 With DraftKings

Matthew Tkachuk To Score In Game 3

This Tkachuk anytime goal has lengthened, which is good for bettors.

Tkachuk was around +150 for Game 1, then +185 for Game 2. Now, the talented Center rolls in at +230 for Game 3.

Okay, there are several reasons for this. His goal production dropped this year, along with his penalty minutes, and those consecutive 40-goal seasons turned into a 26 tally effort.

The postseason has been much the same. Tkachuk had 11 visits to the goal sanctuary last season but only has five currently.

However, Tkachuk is going to a familiar place with a considerable chip on his shoulder. The final minutes of Game 2 got ugly and he was one of a handful who mostly kept their cool.

Will he hurt Edmonton on the scoreboard for Game 3 where it really matters? He did have four shots on goal in Game 2 along with several quality scoring chances.

The Panel's pick here for Thursday night is taking Tkachuk to get back on his goal-scoring bike.

Goal scorers never forget, after all.

The Panel Pick 2: Matthew Tkachuk Anytime Goal @ +230 With BetMGM

Hedging With Extra Time On Our Minds

Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final series is expected to see plenty of unexpected events, so how about the game going to overtime?

It’s not as long a shot as people might think, as Game 1 was close and Game 2 was tied after 40 minutes.

Both teams keep playing to the Under of 5.5 goals in this series and as Darryl Sutter said; this was a 3-2 league.

So The Panel believe it makes a ton of sense to combine the two theories into one.

Picking someone to score an overtime goal seems to be the next logical step.

While many would gravitate to a McDavid or Draisaitl, guess who tops the board in an extra session scenario?

That would be none other than Zach Hyman, who has been oddly quiet in this series despite playing 22+ minutes in both games and has four combined shots.

But you never know, he might just get the goal to send the Edmonton fans home happy on Thursday at attractive odds.

The Panel Pick 3: Zach Hyman Overtime Goal @ +3500 With FanDuel