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Where's the fuckin power box, Carol?Comment -
Oilers done. Marchand an absolute dog. He’s the ultimate competitor and every kid who is undersized playing hockey should watch how he plays.Comment -
SBR's Gary Pearson writes; The Edmonton Oilers have run out of lives to spare as they travel to Florida with one final chance to extend the Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers.
The Panthers can wrap up their second straight Stanley Cup on home ice as we offer our Oilers vs. Panthers predictions for Tuesday's Game 6, which expect another bounce-back outing from the visitors. Puck drop at Amerant Bank Arena is set for 8 p.m. ET (TNT)
✅ Who will win Oilers vs. Panthers: Oilers (+120 via bet365) ⭐⭐⭐
✅ Best prop bet: Under 6.5 goals (-120 via bet365) ⭐⭐⭐
Here is my best bet for Game 6 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final: Oilers ML- Best odds: +120 via bet365 (bet $10 to win $12 profit)
- Implied win probability: 45.45%
The Oilers are officially out of Mulligans, down to the last out. For the fourth time in five games, Kris Knoblauch's team allowed the opening goal. This time, however, the Panthers weren't in a giving mood, shutting up shop and taking Game 5 comfortably.
Teams that win Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final hoist the Holy Grail 73% of the time, making the Oilers' behemoth task increasingly unlikely. However, the Oilers have overcome adversity several times in these playoffs, so if there's any team that can drag the Panthers to a decisive Game 7, it's them.
I backed the Oilers since the start of the season, and I'm not about to waver. The Panthers are 5-4 at home, which should lift an Oilers crew that overcame a 3-0 first-period deficit when they last played at Amerant Bank Arena.
Another insipid start, however, will likely lead to the Panthers becoming back-to-back Stanley Cup winners, placing even more importance on bagging the opener.
Most of our best NHL betting sites have the Oilers pegged as +120 underdogs.
Best Oilers vs. Panthers player prop picks for Game 6
✅ Corey Perry Over 1.5 shots (-140 via bet365) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
✅ Carter Verhaeghe Over 0.5 points (-130 via Caesars) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
✅ Brad Marchand Over 2.5 shots (+158 via FanDuel) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Here is my best player prop bet for Game 6 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final: Corey Perry Over 1.5 shots- Best odds: -140 via bet365 (bet $10 to win $7.40 profit)
- Implied win probability: 58.33%
The Oilers are forced into a desperate situation, and they won't go down without firing everything they can muster at Sergei Bobrovsky. Perry has played all series like a man hellbent on avoiding succumbing for the fifth time in a Stanley Cup Final. He's been bouncing around lines lately, recently playing on the second unit with Leon Draisaitl.
It hasn't matter where he's played in terms of shot volume, as his ice time is up markedly since Zach Hyman's injury. Perry is a staple on the first power play unit and has fired at least two shots on goal in seven straight.
The odds are admittedly short for my liking, but I'm confident he'll hit the Over yet again. bet365 offers the best odds, which can be found as short at -160 at DraftKings.
Conn Smythe Trophy Odds 2025: Can Bennett or Marchand Join List of Most Unlikely MVP Winners?
Sam Bennett's Conn Smythe Trophy case
When the Conn Smythe Trophy odds opened at the start of the postseason, Bennett had +15000 odds at BetMGM. Those odds implied a 0.66% chance of winning. That's about the same probability of the Buffalo Sabres (+14000) lifting the Holy Grail next season.
Don't get any delusions of grandeur, Sabres fans.
Bennett's run has been as remarkable as the odds suggest. He had 51 points in 76 regular-season contests, tied for 121st overall with five other players. Incredibly, one of the players who also finished the season with 51 points is Marchand. Bennett bashing his way to record-setting playoffs
Bennett is tied for fourth in playoff scoring with 22 points in 22 games.
While it's not a prolific rate of return, Bennett has been more efficient in lighting the lamp in enemy rinks than anyone in the rich history of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
He has 13 road goals, the most ever. That's a goal-per-road contest, which includes his current six-game road goal-scoring streak. Only five players have achieved that feat.
While Bennett has only one game-winning goal, he consistently produces in clutch moments, more often than not when his team is in desperate need of a lift.
He's also one of the most physically formidable players, bashing, bruising, and getting under the opponent's skin as naturally as a panther stalks its prey. And he torments goaltenders like no other.
Love or loath him, Bennett has bullied his way to the top of the Conn Smythe Trophy oddsboard, and he has a 70.41% chance of becoming MVP if the Panthers win on Tuesday.
That's a far cry from the 0.66% chance he started the playoffs with.
⏺️ Bennett records of note- Most road goals in a single playoff year: 13
- Six-game road goal streak: He became just the fifth player in NHL history to score in six consecutive road playoff games, joining legends like Brian Propp (7), Maurice Richard (6), and Kevin Stevens (6)
- Franchise records for the Panthers: Franchise-high 15 playoffgoals, leading all NHL players; He became the first Panther to score in five consecutive road playoff games
- Elite company in NHL history: One of only four active players with 15-plus goals in a single postseason - joining Alex Ovechkin (15 in 2018), Sidney Crosby (15 in 2009), and Zach Hyman (16 in 2024).
- First post-2005 player to record double-digit goals and 100-plus hits in one playoff run - echoing Ovechkin’s 2018 campaign
Brad Marchand's Conn Smythe Trophy case
Like Bennett, Marchand began the playoffs with +15000 odds. He started the Stanley Cup Final with +6000 odds, even longer than Bennett's +3000.
And just like Bennett, his ascendency has been remarkable, a fantasy-like narrative Disney filmmakers scour the sports landscape or. Now, he need only finish his otherworldly run with a storybook ending. Marchand dragging Panthers to victory
Six of Marchand's 10 playoff goals have come in the Stanley Cup Final. He's the first player to score six goals in a Stanley Cup Final since Esa Tikkanen achieved the feat against the Boston Bruins in 1988.
While Bennett deservingly takes the plaudits for being the undisputed road warrior of the playoffs, Marchand has given him a run for his money in the final.
The 37-year-old dragged the Panthers to victory in Game 2, becoming the first player to score a shorthanded goal and an overtime winner in a Stanley Cup Final.
It wasn't his first shorthanded goal in a final, either. He netted one against the Vancouver Canucks on the same day exactly 14 years ago, in Game 3 of the 2011 final.
He then took things into his own hands again in Game 5, scoring two goals to put the visitors in cruise control. Marchand is also the co-favorite to become the first non-captain to hoist the Stanley Cup, which we covered in the Stanley Cup hand-off odds.
If you ask me, those +190 odds at FanDuel are a steal, especially considering how he's galvanized the collective since joining from Boston. Everything he's touched in Florida has turned to gold, excluding the ridiculous rat-shooting song and dance.
⏺️ Marchand records of note- He became the second player aged 37 or older to score in each of his first two games of a Stanley Cup Final
- He became the first player in modern history (since 1988) to score six goals in a single Stanley Cup Final
- Most goals by any player 35 or older in a Stanley Cup Final
- First to record 5-plus goals in a Stanley Cup Final with two teams
- Most career Stanley Cup Final goals among active players (13)
- Plus-18 ranking, tied for the most with linemate Anton Lundell
- First player ever to win five Game 7s against the same franchise (Toronto Maple Leafs)
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