The Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers meet in Game 1 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Puck drop is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET (TNT / truTV / Max). Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s NHL odds around the Panthers vs. Oilers odds and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.

Regular-season series: Panthers won 2-0

The Panthers and Oilers meet in the Stanley Cup Final for the second consecutive season. It’s the first time since 1983-84 that the same 2 teams are playing for the championship in back-to-back seasons.

Florida won the organization’s first Stanley Cup last season, outlasting Edmonton in 7 games. The Panthers put the Oilers in a 3-0 series hole to start, but Edmonton stormed back to nearly join an elite group.

Florida ousted the Tampa Bay Lightning in 5 games in the first round, while topping the Toronto Maple Leafs in 7 games in the second round. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Panthers topped the Carolina Hurricanes in 5 games, outscoring the Hurricanes 21-10. Florida scored 5 or more goals in all 4 of the victories in that series, while averaging 4.5 goals per game (GPG) in the past 6 playoff games.

Edmonton dropped the LA Kings in 6 games in the first round, while dispatching the Vegas Golden Knights in 5 games in the second round. In the Western Conference Finals, the Oilers topped the Dallas Stars 4-1, winning the final 4 games of the series after getting doubled up in Dallas 6-3 in Game 1.

Panthers C Aleksander Barkov leads the team with 17 playoff points, including a team-high tying 11 assists. C Sam Bennett leads the team with 10 goals in the postseason, while LW Matthew Tkachuk has 11 assists with a team-best 8 power-play points, including 3 goals and 5 assists.

For the Oilers, C Connor McDavid has rolled up 20 assists and 26 points to lead the team, while C Leon Draisaitl has managed 7 goals with 25 points, a plus-11 rating and 9 power-play points, including a team-best 7 assists on the man advantage. C Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has been an impressive tertiary scoring option with 13 assists and 18 points.

Panthers at Oilers odds

Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 2:01 a.m. ET.

Moneyline (ML): Panthers +110 (bet $100 to win $110) | Oilers -130 (bet $130 to win $100)Puck line (PL)/Against the spread (ATS): Panthers +1.5 (-225) | Oilers -1.5 (+185)Over/Under (O/U): 6 (O: -120 | U: +100)Panthers at Oilers projected goalies

Sergei Bobrovsky (12-5-0, 2.11 GAA, .912 SV%, 3 SO – postseason) vs. Stuart Skinner (6-4-0, 2.53 GAA, .904 SV%, 3 SO – postseason)

Bobrovsky stumbled a bit in the first few games of the Toronto series, allowing 4 or more goals in each of the first 3 contests of that second-round series. However, he has allowed just 12 goals across the past 9 playoff games, and he has wins in 8 of the past 10 postseason starts.

Skinner enters with 4 straight victories. He had lost his job in the L.A. series after a dismal Game 2 performance. Calvin Pickard took over, winning 6 straight starts, but he was injured in Game 2 of the Vegas series, giving way to Skinner. The latter allowed a game-winning goal with 0.4 seconds left in Game 3 of that series, but he has been on fire since. He has allowed 1 or no goals in 5 of the past 7 games, including 3 shutouts.

Play our free daily Pick’em Challenge and win! Play now!

Panthers at Oilers picks and predictionsPrediction

Oilers 4, Panthers 3

The OILERS (-130) are the play in Game 1. Last season, the Panthers had home-ice advantage, but this time around, Edmonton will have 4 potential games on home ice. Look for Edmonton to get off to a quick start in this series opener, which could be quite wide open with the high-octane offense on both sides.

The Panthers +1.5 (-225) are too pricey if you require a little bit of insurance, and you just can’t play the defending champs straight up. Conversely, it’s hard to trust the Oilers -1.5 (+185) laying the goal and a half, even at home, although it is the more tempting play.

The Panthers swept the regular-season series, and while the Oilers are at home, we should have a nip-and-tuck series opener as these teams feel each other out.

PASS.

OVER 6 (-120) is the lean, but go with a half-unit play at most.

While Bobrovsky and Skinner have been red-hot, we have a Panthers offense operating at a high level, while McDavid, Draisaitl and company can score any place and any time.

We should have some wide-open play in the early stages of this series before things tighten up significantly.

For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.

Follow @danieledobish on Twitter/X. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter/X and like us on Facebook.