The Edmonton Oilers bought off the mat.
Down, 2-1, within the best-of-seven sequence and trailing by three targets in Friday evening’s Sport 4, the Oilers staged a shocking comeback to get the Ultimate again on degree phrases forward of Sunday’s Sport 5 in Alberta.
The Florida Panthers had the Oilers underneath siege for many of the first half of Sport 4, however a power-play purpose by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins turned the tide, and Edmonton got here out on high, 5-4, in time beyond regulation due to a purpose by Leon Draisaitl.
For many groups, a loss like that may be a intestine punch and will trigger issues to spiral uncontrolled. However the Panthers are constructed in a different way.
These Cats have weathered loads of storms, together with blowing a 3-0 sequence lead towards these similar Oilers in final 12 months’s Ultimate earlier than successful Sport 7.
There’ll seemingly be loads of betting assist for the Oilers in Sport 5 primarily based on the concept that they’ll carry the momentum from Friday evening, however the Panthers deserve extra credit score than that.
In actual fact, an important takeaway from Sport 4, no less than for bettors, was not that the Panthers misplaced however what’s happening in purpose for the Oilers.
Stuart Skinner was pulled for the second straight recreation Friday evening, and he has not been very sharp on this sequence.
The margins on this sequence are razor skinny; the 2 groups have basically cut up the targets, scoring possibilities and shot makes an attempt down the center at 5-on-5, so the goaltending battle could possibly be the decisive issue.
Whether or not Kris Knoblauch chooses to return to Skinner or rolls with journeyman Calvin Pickard in Sport 5, there isn’t any query that the Panthers have the sting within the blue paint, no less than on paper.
Betting on the NHL?
Sergei Bobrovsky will not be at his greatest proper now, however he’s bought a terrific observe document within the postseason and was the Conn Smythe favourite for Florida coming into the sequence.
Goaltending is fickle and hard to challenge, but when Bobrovsky does discover his A-game, it could be a large increase for the Panthers, who’ve performed the Oilers to a 50-50 cut up in nearly each space of the sport.
THE PLAY: Panthers moneyline (+102, FanDuel)
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Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, however a long-profiting sports activities bettor with 10 years of expertise within the playing trade. He loves utilizing recreation principle to assist punters win bracket swimming pools, discover lengthy pictures, and learn to beat the market in mainstream and area of interest sports activities.