Stanley Cup Finals - Game 1
Vegas -½ +135 over Florida

Posted at 11:30 AM EST. Odds subject to change.

Pinnacle  -½ +134 BET365 -½ +135 Sportsinteraction -½ +114 888Sport -½ +120

Vegas -½ +135 over Florida

8:00 PM EST. The Golden Knights are back in the Stanley Cup Finals for the second time in their short five-year existence. The Knights are the #1 seed in the West, and they got here by knocking off Winnipeg, Edmonton, and Seattle. The Knights are loaded with firepower, and they are capable of putting up a crooked number on any night.

We could go up and down these rosters and compare X's and O's. We could discuss the power play, the penalty kill, third and fourth-line depth players, and the strategy that the coaches will be trying to impose on one another. However, what matters to us going into Game 1 of this Stanley Cup Final is the long layoff and how that break is going to impact the hottest goaltender on the planet, Sergei Bobrovsky.

When you are playing at the otherworldly level that Bobrovsky has been since retaking over the starter's crease in Round 1 versus the Bruins, the last thing you want to do is sit at home. The Panthers made quick work of the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Finals, knocking off Carolina in four straight games. Before we go any further, we'll note that the Panthers won each of those games by just one goal, with two of them going to overtime.

Nobody will forget that quadruple-overtime affair in Game 1 anytime soon, but we have to point out that the outcome of that game, as well as the four others, could have gone either way. Additionally, if we go back to Round 2 versus Toronto, the Panthers won three of four one-goal games, and in Round 1 against the record-setting Bruins, Florida would win both of the one-goal games those two teams played. If you are keeping track at home, the Cats are 9-1 in these playoffs in one-goal games.

Bobrovsky is the biggest reason for that, no doubt, but we'd be remiss if we didn't remind you that "Bob" was benched down the stretch as Florida clawed and scratched for a Wild Card spot, which they clinched with a career minor leaguer in Alex Lyon in the net. Lyon started the first two games for the Panthers too. One of the funniest things we've read during this run for the Cats is that if the Oilers had Bobrovsky, they'd still be playing hockey. Y'all, if the Oilers had "Bob," they might not have made the playoffs. If Bobrovsky is able to relight the fire that carried his team to the finals, so be it, but if enough time has passed that he's turned back into the pumpkin he really is, it's going to be a long night and a short series.

Finnie

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Our Pick

Vegas -½ +135 (Risking 2 units - To Win: 2.70)

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Chicago +167 over Ottawa