Stanley Cup Final: Florida Panthers vs. Vegas Golden Knights Series Best Bets

The Florida Panthers and Vegas Golden Knights are set to collide in the Stanley Cup Final, and there’s value to be had in this matchup.

All odds courtesy of the FanDuel Sportsbook. 

The Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers had very different paths on their journey to winning their respective conferences. The Golden Knights were the top seed in the West, and they took care of business over the Winnipeg Jets, Edmonton Oilers, and Dallas Stars. On the other hand, the Florida Panthers were the lowest seed in the Eastern Conference, and they upset the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Carolina Hurricanes. Momentum is a funny thing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and these teams are both built in a way that it’s not exactly surprising that they’ve been having playoff success, even with their polar opposite regular season standings. 

Forwards

Regarding goal scoring, the Vegas Golden Knights have had slightly more production from their forwards in the postseason. The Golden Knights sit at 3.65 goals per game, while the Panthers are at 3.13. Both teams have some solid two-way forwards, but if we’re looking at the overall depth, combined with star power, Vegas should have an edge in this category.

Edge: Vegas 

Defense

Vegas has some nice depth on their backend and a solid top four that eats up a lot of minutes. They have a good mix of puck movers and physicality. The Panthers have less depth on their blueline, but they have a mean defense and one that can also move the puck and contribute offense. Vegas has found a lot of success with this core in prior playoff runs, and even though we like some of the Panthers’ defensemen, we’ll give Vegas another slight edge in this category. 

Edge: Vegas 

Goaltending 

The Golden Knights are on their third-string netminder in Adin Hill, while the Panthers have seen the re-emergence of Sergei Bobrovsky. Hill has posted a 7-3 record, paired with a .937 save percentage, while Bobrovsky is sitting at 11-2, with a .935 save percentage. Both goalies have posted solid numbers to this point. Still, you’d have to give Bobrovsky the edge regarding overall experience and the quality of play he’s bringing to the table, even if Hill has slightly better numbers. 

Edge: Florida

You can make a case that this Panthers squad is a team of destiny, especially when you factor in that they’ve knocked off three of the top 5 regular season teams. Still, this Vegas Golden Knights team has been on the cusp for years, and we like the makeup of this group. Florida will make this a series and won’t roll over, but the Knights will prove too much to handle and ultimately find a way to come out on top. The price for Vegas winning the series in six games is juicy and deserves strong consideration. 

Best Bets: Golden Knights win series (-140), Golden Knights win series 4-2 (+400)