The Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers start the battle for the Stanley Cup on Saturday with the former kicking off the series on home ice.
The first goal can play a huge role in Game 1 and bookmaker BetOnline is offering odds at -120 for the hosts to get it. The odds are at -110 for Florida to score first.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: June 2nd, 9:30 A.M. (EST)
Winning on the road is never easy in the NHL, but the Panthers have enjoyed special moments away from home throughout the postseason and can feel confident of seeing more success. They won both road outings, including an epic quadruple-overtime thriller, in a quick four-game series in the Eastern Conference Finals against Carolina and also produced overtime wins in series-clinchers on away ice in the first two rounds.
Matthew Tkachuk can come up huge countless times for Florida during the playoffs and he’ll be expected to have a big impact again in Game 1 of the Finals. The 25-year-old has scored nine goals and sits on 21 points through 16 outings in these playoffs. Dallas’ Roope Hintz still leads the postseason scoring list with 24 points but it appears to be only a matter of time before Tkachuk takes over the spot.
Sergei Bobrovsky is expected to continue to play a huge role as well. The two-time Vezina Trophy winner has been a rock for the Panthers in the playoffs, producing an 11-2 record with a 2.21 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage. He gave up two or fewer goals in eight straight outings before Carolina managed to sneak three past him in the last game of the Eastern Conference Finals.
It’s going to be a fascinating battle in the series between two in-form goalies as Adin Hill has held down the fort superbly for Vegas after Laurent Brossoit got injured, doing even better than Bobrovsky. He has allowed 2.07 goals per game with a .937 save percentage and two shutouts.
In the attack, Vegas has gotten contributions from all over the place with nine players posting nine points or more. Jack Eichel is leading the way with 18 points and his linemates Jonathan Marchessault and Ivan Barbashev aren’t far behind. Star winger Mark Stone is only fourth on the team’s scoring list and skates with the third line, which shows you just how deep this Vegas team is. They will be hoping to make the depth count in front of their fans Saturday night.
