Scoreboard	1	2	3	Odds
Florida Panthers 47-31-4	2	0	3	+6
Edmonton Oilers 48-29-4-1	0	0	2	-105

Florida Panthers vs. Edmonton Oilers Stanley Cup Final Game 5 Prediction, NHL Odds

The Oilers were absolutely smacked around in the first period of Game 4 on Thursday and trailed 3-0 heading into the second. Whatever was said in the locker room clearly had an effect as Edmonton rallied for a 5-4 overtime victory to tie the series at two games apiece.

Headed back to Alberta for Game 5 on Thursday, which team will move one win away from the Stanley Cup?

Edmonton is a slim -120 favourite to win on the NHL odds, with the total set at 6.5.

Panthers vs. Oilers NHL Betting Odds

Outside of Game 3, this series is as close as it gets, with three of four games going to extra time. Dating back to last year’s Cup Final, six of the last seven head-to-heads have been decided by one goal, so bettors have really profited when taking the underdog on the puckline.

The series is now a virtual pick’em on the NHL futures board. The favoured exact series result has the Oilers winning in seven games at +230. The biggest long shot is an Oilers win in six games at +280. Clearly, oddsmakers are torn on how this series will turn out.

It’s a little surprising Leon Draisaitl hasn’t come up in Conn Smythe Trophy discussions until now. Draisaitl provides great Conn Smythe value at +250 considering he has an NHL record four overtime goals this postseason, two of which came in the Cup Final.

Florida Panthers

There’s a glass half full and a glass half empty way to look at Game 4 and the glass half empty version says that Florida suffered a catastrophic collapse after winning the first period 3-0. The Panthers were outscored 3-0 in the second period and they were actually 20 seconds away from losing in regulation before a late Sam Reinhart goal sent to the game to overtime.

One positive trend for Florida throughout the playoffs, however, has been depth scoring. Sam Bennett (14G, 7A) and Matthew Tkachuk (7G, 14A) share the team lead with 21 points apiece, but 11 players have recorded 12 or more points and seven have six or more goals. Bennett has been incredibly clutch with points in eight of his last nine games, including every game this series.

Edmonton Oilers

The glass half full version of Game 4 is Edmonton’s impressive resillency. The Oilers are the first road team to rally from a 3-0 deficit to win a Stanley Cup Final game since the 1919 Montreal Canadiens. Give some kudos to Leon Draisaitl, whose four overtime goals this playoffs is an NHL record in a single postseason. It’s a huge turnaround from last year’s Cup Final, which ended with Draisaitl failing to find the back of the net.

You’ve heard it before, but Edmonton has a major decision to make when it comes to a starting goalie for Game 5. Stuart Skinner was yanked after allowing three goals on 17 shots in the first period on Thursday, but he has very similar stats to Calvin Pickard this postseason. Pickard, who stopped 22 of 23 shots faced in Game 4, has a 2.69 goals-against average and .896 save percentage in the playoffs. Skinner has a 2.99 GAA and .891 SV. The difference is Pickard’s perfect 7-0 record, which should give him the edge to start Game 5.