The Stanley Cup Final is here! The Vegas Golden Knights took care of the Dallas Stars in six games earlier this week to win the Western Conference Final after the Florida Panthers swept the Carolina Hurricanes to win the East. The Golden Knights and Panthers will now face off in the Stanley Cup Final as each team is looking to lift Lord Stanley’s Cup for the first time in franchise history.
The Florida Panthers had a wild ride just to make the playoffs, let alone the Stanley Cup Final, and they enter as underdogs — a situation they’re very familiar with at this point.
Stanley Cup Final 2023 Betting Preview: Florida Panthers Road to Final, Odds, & Conn Smythe Targets
Stanley Cup Final 2023 Betting Preview: Florida Panthers
Florida Panthers Road to Final
The Panthers had to go on a winning streak late in the season to even make the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Instead, Florida rattled off six straight wins and an overtime loss to earn their spot in the big dance, thanks in part to a collapse by the Pittsburgh Penguins. But the Cats were in, and they weren’t going down easily.
It was a tall task in the first round as the Panthers had to face the best regular-season team in NHL history, the Bruins. Boston won three of the first four games to take a commanding 3-1 series lead, but the Cats were playing possum. Matthew Tkachuk scored the overtime winner in Game 5, and the Panthers have lost just one game since then.
The Panthers took down the top-seeded Bruins and were rewarded with the opportunity to face off against the Maple Leafs in the next round. That’s the First Time in the Second Round since 2004 Toronto Maple Leafs. So naturally, Leaf’s fans wanted Florida, and boy, did they get them. The Cats took a 3-0 series lead, played with their food a bit in Game 5, and raked the Leafs away in Game 5.
Then, after taking down two of the Stanley Cup favorites, the Cats had another uphill battle against the Hurricanes. However, they weathered the storm early on, winning Game 1 in four overtimes, and went on to sweep the Hurricanes in four games. Florida outscored Carolina 10-6 in the series.
Florida Panthers Stanley Cup Odds
To win: +110
To win in
- 4 games: +1300
- 5 games: +750
- 6 games: +475
- 7 games: +550
The Panthers have been the underdog story of the playoffs, and that continues in the Stanley Cup Final. The most likely outcome if the Panthers win is for the series to go six games at +475. That’s not a bad price for a series between two teams that are more than capable of winning a few games.
Florida Panthers Conn Smythe Targets
Sergei Bobrovsky +210
Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky has been unbelievable in the playoffs. He’s 11-2 in his 13 starts with a .935 SV% and 2.21 GAA.
The Russian netminder has been particularly strong over the last two series. Bobrovsky is 8-1 with a .954 SV% and just 16 goals allowed (less than two per game) in nine contests, including a four-overtime affair against the Hurricanes.
If the Panthers win the Cup, Bobrovsky has a great case to win the Conn Smythe Trophy.
Matthew Tkachuk +360
The other option for the Conn Smythe on the Panthers is star forward, Matthew Tkachuk. Tkachuk has come up clutch time and time again in the playoffs, including the series-clinching goal in the dying seconds of Game 4 in the Eastern Conference Final.
Tkachuk leads all remaining players with 21 points (9 G, 12 A) in just 16 games and is three points shy of Roope Hintz. Assuming he can pick up three points in the series, he’ll have the most points in the playoffs and needs just four goals to tie Leon Draisaitl for the scoring lead.
For my money, Tkachuk would be my pick over Bobrovsky.
Aleksander Barkov +12000
Barkov is an interesting longshot dart at 120/1. The Panthers captain has 14 points, seven fewer than Tkachuk, but a strong showing in the Stanley Cup Final may be able to turn the tide for the man wearing the C.
Carter Verhaeghe +12000
Similarly, Verhaeghe at 120/1 is worth a look. He has 15 points in the playoffs and has a knack for putting up goals in bunches. If Vegas is able to limit the Tkachuk line, it could be Verhaeghe swooping in for the Conn Smythe.
