2024 NHL Stanley Cup Final: Oilers vs. Panthers picks, expert predictions

After some sensational action throughout the NHL postseason, the Stanley Cup Final is officially set in stone. The Florida Panthers will represent the Eastern Conference, while the Edmonton Oilers move out of the Western Conference for the Stanley Cup Final that begins on Saturday.

The Panthers played as the No. 1 seed in the Stanley Cup playoffs and defeated the New York Rangers in six games to win the Eastern Conference Final. Florida will now compete for the Stanley Cup for the second consecutive season.

Meanwhile, the Oilers reached the Stanley Cup Final after beating the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final. This marks the first time in Connor McDavid’s career that Edmonton will play for Lord Stanley’s Cup.

Our analysts weighed in on their picks for the Stanley Cup Final.

(1) Panthers vs. (2) Lubricators

Chris Bengel: The Panthers faced a lot of adversity early in the Eastern Conference Finals. In fact, the Rangers held a 2–1 series lead after an overtime victory in Game 3. However, Florida closed out the series as strong as a team could with three straight wins to win the series.

As was the case during the Panthers’ 2023 Stanley Cup campaign, forward Matthew Tkachuk has excelled in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Tkachuk leads the team in points (19) with five goals and 14 assists thus far. In addition to Tkachuk, the Panthers have plenty of depth among their top six forwards, including Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe in addition to Tkachuk. Bennett has actually appeared in the last three games of the Rangers series, as he is currently on a three game game streak.

While offensive firepower can often be the theme when it comes to the Panthers, goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky has been playing out of his mind throughout the postseason. Bobrovsky posted a 12-5-0 record with a 2.20 goals against average and a .908 save percentage. The 35-year-old has also allowed two or fewer goals in 10 of the last 11 playoff games, including in all but one game during the Eastern Conference Finals. According to Money PuckBobrobsky owns a .960 save percentage when facing unblocked shots during the postseason.

Bobrovsky will certainly have to be at his best for the Panthers to hoist the Stanley Cup. The Oilers have been arguably the most lethal offensive team in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and that’s to be expected when a team has players like Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on its roster.

Having to face one of the best players in the world, McDavid, every night will not be an easy task, but I think Bobrovsky will be up to the challenge. This will likely be a back-and-forth series and could easily last seven games. Ultimately, I trust the Panthers’ goaltending and star power a little more, and I believe they will win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. Pick – Panthers beat Oilers 4-3

Austin Nivison: The Oilers rely heavily on a core of about six players, with Connor McDavid leading the way as the best hockey player on this spinning rock. Including McDavid, Edmonton has five players with at least 18 points in these playoffs. Nobody has more than eight anymore. When the Oilers’ best players are rolling, as they have been throughout the postseason, they are nearly invulnerable. The big question is whether they can keep going against Florida’s defense.

Edmonton has held its own defensively in these playoffs, but the vast majority of that work has been done by Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard. These two have combined for a goal difference of plus 9 in five-on-five, by natural statistics trick. Without those two in the game, the goal differential drops to minus-12.

The Panthers use their phenomenal depth and stifling defense to suck the life out of teams. The Panthers have allowed just 2.24 goals per game in the playoffs. This stinginess is due, at least in part, to the efforts of Selke Trophy winner Aleksander Barkov and the defensive duo of Gustav Forsling and Aaron Ekblad. Expect McDavid to become well acquainted with these three, and while he has mastered tough encounters in the first three rounds, this will be something akin to a final boss challenge for him.

Of course, the Panthers aren’t just defenders all the time. Matthew Tkachuk remains one of the best forwards in the game today and leads Florida with 19 points. Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe round out the top six with some great scores as well.

Special teams beat the Oilers in the last round and will once again have the advantage in that department. His power play converted 37.3% of his opportunities, and the penalty kill killed 28 consecutive power play chances for his opponents. The Panthers are no slouch on special teams, but they’re not that good.

Florida should be able to make up for the special teams deficit with a slight scoring advantage. Sergei Bobrovsky has been solid for the Panthers in these playoffs, posting a .908 save percentage, but has shown the ability to play at an elite level. On the other side, Stuart Skinner stood out in the conference final, after struggling in the second round. Which version of Skinner appears in this series will be an X-factor.

This Stanley Cup final clash is a contest with teams formed in different ways. Ultimately, the Panthers’ depth and defense will beat a powerful but top-heavy Oilers team. Pick – Panthers beat Oilers 4-2