Golden Knights vs. Panthers Stanley Cup Final Betting Preview: Series Odds

Following the Vegas Golden Knights' 6-0 win over the Dallas Stars in Game 6 on Monday, the Stanley Cup Finals are now set.

The Golden Knights will meet the Florida Panthers, who swept the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The series opens on Saturday with Game 1 in Las Vegas.

Here's how the Golden Knights and Panthers stack up heading into the Stanley Cup Finals.

All NHL odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

Golden Knights vs. Panthers Stanley Cup Finals: Moneyline, Total Goals, Total Games, and Correct Score

• Series Moneyline:
  • Golden Knights: -140
  • Panthers: +120
• Total Goals: 33.5 (-110 on the over and under)
• Total Games:
  • 4: +580
  • 5: +265
  • 6: +198
  • 7: +194
• Correct Score:
  • Golden Knights 4-0: +1000
  • Golden Knights 4-1: +470
  • Golden Knights 4-2: +480
  • Golden Knights 4-3: +400
  • Panthers 4-0: +1200
  • Panthers 4-1: +750
  • Panthers 4-2: +450
  • Panthers 4-3: +560

Golden Knights vs. Panthers Stanley Cup Finals Goalie Breakdown

Projected starting goalies via Left Wing Lock.

• Golden Knights: Adin Hill
  • Regular Season Goals Against Average: 2.50
  • Regular Season Save %: .915
• Panthers: Sergei Bobrovsky
  • Regular Season Goals Against Average: 3.07
  • Regular Season Save %: .901

Golden Knights vs. Panthers Advanced Stats Breakdown

nERD via numberFire. Expected goal stats via NaturalStatTrick. Corsi and Fenwick stats via MoneyPuck.

• Golden Knights:
  • nERD: +0.59 (7th)
  • Goal Differential per 60: +0.37 (11th)
  • xGoal Differential per 60: +0.09 (16th)
  • Playoff Corsi %: 46.9 (14th)
  • Playoff Fenwick %: 47.7 (13th)
• Panthers:
  • nERD: +0.52 (9th)
  • Goal Differential per 60: +0.50 (6th)
  • xGoal Differential per 60: +0.43 (4th)
  • Playoff Corsi %: 47.3 (11th)
  • Playoff Fenwick %: 45.4 (15th)

Golden Knights vs. Panthers Stanley Cup Finals Analysis

This year's Stanley Cup Finals will feature two teams trying to be crowned champions for the first time in franchise history.

The Golden Knights are playing in their second Stanley Cup Finals since their franchise's inaugural season in 2017-18. In their first trip to the finals in 2018, they lost to the Washington Capitals in five games.

The Panthers are also playing in their second Stanley Cup Finals, but their last appearance was in 1996. That year they lost to the Colorado Avalanche in four games.

The Golden Knights being in the Stanley Cup finals doesn't come as a surprise. They finished the regular season with the most points (111) in the Western Conference and the second-most points in the NHL behind only the Boston Bruins. While their appearance isn't a surprise, they still faced a tough road to get here.

The Western Conference was extremely close this season, with the Edmonton Oilers, Colorado Avalanche, and Dallas Stars all finishing within three points of Vegas. To get to this point, the Golden Knights had to go through two of those sides. After defeating the Winnipeg Jets in five games in the first round, Vegas eliminated the Oilers in six games in round two and the Stars in six games in the Western Conference Finals.

The Panthers being in the Stanley Cup finals is a surprise. After winning the Presidents' Trophy with 122 points in the 2021-22 regular season, Florida took a large step back this year. They finished the regular season with just 92 points, the lowest of any team to qualify for the playoffs. In the first round, they fell behind 3-1 to the Boston Bruins before embarking on one of the most remarkable runs in NHL postseason history.

Since losing Game 4 to Boston on April 23rd, the Panthers are 11-1. They defeated the Bruins in overtime in Game 7 before eliminating the Toronto Maple Leafs in five games in the second round. In the Western Conference Finals, they swept a Carolina Hurricanes team that had lost just three games up to that point.

The result is a Stanley Cup clash between a Golden Knights team that has been excellent all year long and a Panthers team that hasn't lost a game in three weeks.

Vegas has been excellent on both sides of the puck throughout the playoffs. Their 3.65 goals per game ranks third and their 2.65 goals allowed per game ranks fourth. The Panthers rank seventh in goals per game (3.13) and sixth in goals allowed per game (2.69). Despite their low goals allowed numbers, both sides rank inside the bottom four in shots against per game. Florida is allowing the most shots per game (37.3) with Vegas allowing the fourth-most (32.4).

On power plays, Florida has been better. Their power play percentage (27.9%) ranks sixth compared to Vegas' power player percentage (18.5%) which ranks ninth. Both sides have struggled on the penalty kill. The Panthers' penalty kill percentage (71.2%) ranks 13th while the Golden Knight's penalty kill percentage (63.0%) ranks 14th.

Between the pipes, both teams have been excellent. For Vegas, Adin Hill ranks fourth in goals against average (2.07) and second in save percentage (.937%) among goalies with at least four games played this postseason. For Florida, Sergei Bobrovsky ranks fifth in goals against average (2.21) and third in save percentage (.935%).

Tossing out the regular season, these two teams appear evenly matched. Vegas is a one seed and Florida an eight seed, but so far this postseason, they have performed similarly.

As it stands, the Golden Knights are favorites to win Game 1 (-130) and the Stanley Cup (-140).

The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author’s advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.