The Edmonton Oilers are set to face the Florida Panthers in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday at Amerant Bank Arena, kicking off a intriguing matchup between two elite teams.

The Oilers beat the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final to clinch their first Cup final appearance since 2006. Connor McDavid leads Edmonton in playoff scoring with 31 points, including 26 assists, while Zach Hyman leads the team with 14 goals.

The Panthers return to the Cup final for the second straight season, this time after beating the New York Rangers in six games in the Eastern Conference Final. Forward Carter Verhaege leads the team with nine goals in the playoffs.

It's the longest distance ever traveled between two teams in the final at 2,541 miles.

Arguably the league's most dominant player, Connor McDavid gets his first chance to hoist the Stanley Cup. The 27-year-old has an astounding 106 points in 67 career playoff games, though previous playoff runs were stymied by an inadequate supporting cast.

That's not the case this season.

Not only did the Oilers add 50-goal scorer Hyman to their top six over the offseason, they now have a more stout defensive group. Led by 24-year old Evan Bouchard and former Nashville Predators' defenseman Mattias Ekholm, the Oilers allowed 2.88 goals per game in the regular season, good for 10th best in the NHL.

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The biggest weakness for Edmonton is goaltending. Stuart Skinner, the Oilers' starting goaltender in the regular season, nearly lost his job to Calvin Pickard in the series against Vancouver, but he reclaimed the net against Dallas. He is 11-5 with an .897 save percentage this postseason.

There may be no deeper team in the NHL than the Florida Panthers. They have little to no weakness in their lineup - strong forward play, stout defense and Vezina-worthy goaltending.

The Panthers' most important forward is Aleksander Barkov. Their first line center, Barkov uses his size and skill to shut down opposing forwards. His line with Carter Verhaege and Sam Reinhart will likely take on the Oilers' top combo of McDavid, Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

Mathew Tkachuk will be the most exciting player to watch in the series, other than McDavid. His skill and personality on the ice will lead to fireworks, especially with pot-stirrers like Evander Kane and Corey Perry on the Oilers.

The Panthers' defense and goaltending outmatch the Oilers, by some margin. Florida boasts four defensemen who would be the best blueliners on most teams: Aaron Ekblad, Gustav Forsling, Brandon Montour and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. In net, Sergei Bobrovsky has a .908 save percentage and is proving he's worth that $10 million price tag.

Florida Panthers win in six games over the Edmonton Oilers: Connor McDavid will have his moments, but the Panthers are the better team - their depth outmatches the Oilers' depth. Look for trade deadline pickup Vladimir Tarasenko to make some noise on the Panthers' highly skilled third line with Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen.

Game 1: Oilers at Panthers | Saturday, June 8, 8 p.m. ET (ABC, ESPN+)Game 2: Oilers at Panthers | Monday, June 10, 8 p.m. ET (ABC, ESPN+)Game 3: Panthers at Oilers | Thursday, June 13, 8 p.m. ET (ABC, ESPN+)Game 4: Panthers at Oilers | Saturday, June 15, 8 p.m. ET (ABC, ESPN+)*Game 5: Oilers at Panthers | Tuesday, June 18, 8 p.m. ET (ABC, ESPN+)*Game 6: Panthers at Oilers | Friday, June 21, 8 p.m. ET (ABC, ESPN+)*Game 7: Oilers at Panthers | Monday, June 24, 8 p.m. ET (ABC, ESPN+)

*if necessary

News Source : https://www.columbiadailyherald.com/story/sports/nhl/predators/2024/06/07/oilers-panthers-prediction-stanley-cup-final-connor-mcdavid/73829747007/