Vegas Golden Knights (63-26-10) vs Florida Panthers (54-36-8)
Game Info: Saturday, June 3, 2023 at 8:00 pm (T-Mobile Arena)
Betting Odds: Vegas Golden Knights -135 / Florida Panthers +115 --- Over/Under: 5.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The Florida Panthers will play the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Panthers Preview
The Florida Panthers are coming off of a series sweep against the Carolina Hurricanes and they only allowed six goals in the series. Florida was out shot pretty badly in the series, but they received great goaltending by Bobrovsky. The Panthers defeated Toronto in five games and Boston in seven games earlier in the playoffs. Matthew Tkachuk has led the Panthers this postseason with nine goals, 12 assists, and 48 shots on goal, while Carter Verhaeghe has added six goals, nine assists, and 43 shots. Sergei Bobrovsky is 11-2 this postseason with a 2.21 goals against average and a .935 save percentage.
Golden Knights Preview
The Vegas Golden Knights are coming off of a series win against Dallas, where they won in six games. Vegas won the first three games in the series and out scored Dallas 21-12 in the series. Vegas defeated Edmonton in six games and Winnipeg in five games to start the playoffs. Jack Eichel has led the Golden Knights this postseason with six goals, 12 assists, and 59 shots, while Jonathan Marchessault has added nine goals, eight assists, and 62 shots on goal. Adin Hill is 7-3 this postseason with a 2.07 goals against average and a .937 save percentage for Vegas.
Trends
Florida is 11-1 in their last 12 games against a team with a winning record and 18-6 in their last 24 games. The under is 8-1 in Florida’s last 9 games. Vegas is 13-4 in their last 17 games against the Atlantic and 18-6 in their last 24 home games. The over is 12-5 in Vegas’ last 17 home games. The home team is 5-0 in these two teams last 5 head to head meetings.
Pick
Florida comes into this game with a ton of rest and hasn’t played since Game 4 against Carolina on May 24th. Vegas defeated Dallas in Game 6 on May 29th, so Florida has been off for a lot longer than Vegas has. I don’t think that extra rest is going to be beneficial for Florida here. I do think we are going to see a lower scoring game with both teams playing great defense, but I like Vegas to get the win on home ice.
David’s Pick Golden Knights ML
AUTHOR: David Racey
Mitch's Take...
