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Stanley Cup Odds: Panthers Slight Favorites Ahead of Conference Finals

The FLorida Panthers are favored to win the Stanley Cup ahead of the Conference Finals

By Iain MacMillan

Dec 16, 2023; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers defensemen Brett Kulak (27) battles with Florida Panthers forward Eetu Luostarinen (27) during the second period at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 16, 2023; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers defensemen Brett Kulak (27) battles with Florida Panthers forward Eetu Luostarinen (27) during the second period at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports / Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports
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The Edmonton Oilers snuck by the Vancouver Canucks in Game 7 of their Conference Semifinal series and now we have the final four teams in the race for the Stanley Cup.

The Florida Panthers and New York Rangers will face off in the Eastern Conference Final while the Edmonton Oilers and Dallas Stars will matchup in the Western Conference Final. The winners of the two series will meet in the Stanley Cup Final.

Unlike most years, there's a strong argument to be made that the final four teams are in fact the four best teams in the NHL. There's no true long shot or dark horse left in the hunt and the latest odds to win it all is a reflection of that idea.

Let's take a look.

Stanley Cup Odds Ahead of Conference Finals

Odds listed below are via FanDuel Sportsbook

  • Florida Panthers +230
  • Dallas Stars +240
  • Edmonton Oilers +270
  • New York Rangers +380

Panthers Set as Stanley Cup Favorites

The Panthers enter the conference finals as the betting favorites to win it all at +230. If you translate those odds to implied probability, they have a 30.30% chance of winning it all. A $100 bet would win a bettor a profit of $230 if they can pull it off.

While the Panthers are technically the favorites, it's not by a wide margin. The Stars and Oilers are right behind them at +240 and +270 respectively. There's a small drop off before the Rangers, who come in at +380.

The reason the Panthers are favored over the likes of the Stars and Oilers is they have the easier matchup in the Rangers, compared to the Stars and Oilers which is a near coin flip series.

The Rangers were the President's Trophy winners, boasting the best regular season record in the NHL, but there is good reason they're looked at as the weakest remaining team amongst oddsmakers and bettors. All we have to do is look at the stat called "expected goals percentage", which measures the amount of scoring chances both for and against for each team.

Here is where the four remaining teams rank in that stat:

Expected Goals Percentage for Final Four NHL Teams

  • Oilers 56.71% - 1st
  • Panthers 56.19% - 3rd
  • Stars 55.79% - 4th
  • Rangers 51.88% - 12th

The Oilers, Panthers, and Stars all ranked in the top four in the regular season in this metric, while the Rangers ranked 12th. They are by no means a bad team and their shooting and goaltending have made up for their lack of play between the blue lines, but now you know why they have the longest odds to win Lord Stanley's Cup.

Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final will take place on Wednesday night and Game 2 of the Western Conference Final is scheduled for Thursday.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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