Panthers vs Oilers NHL Stanley Cup Final Game 2 Picks

The opening game of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final was everything anyone could hope for. The Edmonton Oilers overcame a two-goal deficit to defeat the Florida Panthers 4-3 in overtime on a powerplay goal by Leon Draisaitl off an assist from Connor McDavid.

The Oilers, now up 1-0 in the series after going down 3-0 to start last year’s Stanley Cup Final, host the Panthers on Friday night at Rogers Place at 8:00 pm ET. 

Draisaitl’s goal was his second of the night and he leads the Oilers with nine postseason tallies. He has 27 points in these playoffs, second to teammate Connor McDavid, whose two assists last night give him an NHL-leading 22 this postseason. His 28 points lead everyone as well.

Kaspari Kapanen also had two assists, while Viktor Arvidsson and Mattias Ekholm added goals. Stuart Skinner made 29 saves and improved to 7-2 in the postseason after dropping his first two decisions.

Sam Bennett scored twice to give Florida the lead, which had been 31-0 when leading at the first or second intermission over the last three playoffs. Bennett’s 12 playoff goals are tops in the NHL. Brad Marchand also scored for Florida, while Carter Verhaeghe and Nate Schmidt each had two assists. Sergei Bobrovsky made 42 saves.

Edmonton has now won 13 of their last 15 postseason games and improved to 7-1 at home. Florida dropped to 8-3 on the road in the playoffs, although it took everything Edmonton had to take this series lead.

With Game 1 in the rear view mirror, let’s get into our Panthers vs Oilers predictions and best bets for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final on Friday, June 6.

Panthers vs Oilers Predictions

Pick #1: Florida Panthers +1.5 over Edmonton Oilers (-230)

Pick #2: Under 6.5 goals (-125)

Pick #3: Sam Bennett anytime goalscorer (+190)

Pick #1: Panthers +1.5 over Oilers (-230)

Yes, the Oilers took the early series lead with the dramatic overtime victory, but Florida pushed them to the brink, and they should continue to do so the entire series. This team is too postseason-savvy to get run on the road in the Stanley Cup Final. 

It is surprising that the Panthers did not hold onto their lead, as their record over the past three postseasons indicates. Expect them to be very upset and motivated when they hit the ice on Friday. In a matchup that feels very tight, taking the Panthers +1.5 here again looks to be the best bet. 

Pick #2: Under 6.5 goals (-125)

The line made that dramatic half-goal change going into Game 2. It took everything these two sides could muster to tally seven goals in Game 1, and that was with overtime. Yes, it could obviously happen again, but the two goaltenders in this series have been on fire for most of the postseason, and they did little to change that on Wednesday.

Edmonton’s Skinner made several game-saving blocks and still allowed three goals after surrendering just two total in the Oilers’ three previous home games. Look for Skinner to be just as stingy again tomorrow night.

Where this bet hinges, however, is on the goaltender stick of Florida’s Bobrovsky, who allowed more than three goals for the first time in 10 playoff games last night. He has allowed seven combined goals in the last two contests, going back to a 5-3 Game 5 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Before that, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner had allowed just nine goals over his previous eight outings. Even though Bobrovsky has allowed seven goals in these last two games, his postseason goals-allowed average is still just 2.17, with a .912 save percentage to boot.

After fitting a 4-3 opening game classic perfectly, Game 2 now feels more likely to be a 3-2 or even 2-1 kind of game. 

Pick #3: Sam Bennett anytime goalscorer (+190)

Bennett is having a postseason to remember. The steady yet unspectacular center has never made an All-Star game in his 11-year career with Florida and the Calgary Flames. He had 25 goals and set a career-high with 51 points in the regular season, but he has exploded for an NHL-leading 12 goals in the playoffs.

With two goals to open the Stanley Cup Final, Bennett now has six goals in his last six games, scoring in four of those contests. He simply has a nose for the goal right now, and the odds of him scoring anytime in Game 2 look very attractive.