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00:00We are still four days away from the start of the 2024 Stanley Cup final.
00:09That's Saturday in sunrise between the Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers,
00:14but we will break down each and every angle that you need to know for the Cup final.
00:18Edmonton trying to bring back Lord Stanley's Cup to the Great White North.
00:23Florida into the Stanley Cup final for a second consecutive year.
00:27Last year, the Panthers losing out to the Vegas Golden Knights.
00:30This year, Florida looking to triumph on top.
00:33We welcome in Joe Maddon live right here to this Tuesday on the early line on SportsGrid
00:38to help us get ready for everything we need to know for the Stanley Cup final here in 2024.
00:44Joe, as always, we appreciate the time here on this Tuesday morning.
00:48Yeah, absolutely guys. Thank you so much for having me.
00:51Excited to start looking at the Stanley Cup finals here.
00:55It's going to be absolutely war and I can hardly wait for that puck to drop.
01:00Joe, before we dive into the specific matchup between Edmonton and Florida,
01:04let's take a look back on how we reach this point in the Stanley Cup postseason.
01:09Edmonton out of the West. Second best price to win the Western Conference crown before the year got started.
01:15Florida back into the Stanley Cup final,
01:17but last year it was unexpected coming out of nowhere as the 8 seed to reach all the way to the Cup final.
01:24When you look at the playoff bracket around the National Hockey League this season to see the Oilers face off against the Panthers.
01:31Did you expect this or did it surprise you more than anything?
01:35It really did surprise me here, especially out of the Western Conference.
01:39You look at the Edmonton Oilers and I'll be the first to eat my words.
01:42I didn't think Stuart Skinner could get the Edmonton Oilers here,
01:46but he played a three fantastic and I'm talking lights out games in those last three games versus at
01:52Ballasters during the rest of those games. He was pretty solid.
01:56We know he was benched once out there,
01:59but Stuart Skinner has really impressed me so far in the playoffs.
02:03I'm hoping he can continue that style of play into the finals here and then out of the Eastern Conference,
02:11you know, I really did think it was a coin flip between the Florida Panthers
02:14and the New York Rangers both of those teams having so many strengths on both sides of the pot.
02:19So I'm happy to see the Florida Panthers here.
02:22They absolutely deserve it. And this team is so hungry out there you guys.
02:27Joe to Championship Series about to get underway this week.
02:29The NBA starts on Thursday night. The NHL starts on Saturday in the NBA.
02:33We have over a $2 price tag here on the Boston Celtics.
02:36So it looks like they probably should win that series,
02:38but we take a look at hockey a minus 128 price this morning for the Florida Panthers to win the series over the Edmonton Oilers.
02:45And if we're taking a look at that, you know, minus one and a half price plus 160 here on the Florida Panthers for the Edmonton Oilers.
02:51You take the game and a half. It's a minus 200 price.
02:53How are we feeling? And also do we agree that the Florida Panthers should be the favorite in this series?
02:58I absolutely agree. The Florida Panthers should be the favorite in this series at minus 130.
03:03It is a little juicy here,
03:04but I do think they can get this done in six or seven over the Edmonton Oilers.
03:09This isn't going to come easy though. And I do think if it wasn't for Connor McDavid,
03:13Leon Dries, I don't have him Bouchard those big names on the Edmonton Oilers.
03:18You look at the rest of the team and they don't have the depth that I really wanted to see.
03:23Now this team has played absolutely fantastic, but I look at Florida's way of grinding down teams.
03:28And while Edmonton might get up early in these games,
03:31and I think it's a perfect situation for live betting with the Florida Panthers coming back.
03:36I just don't see that three periods of play that they will be able to withstand the Florida Panthers.
03:43So Joe, you saw those odds right there in terms of the series total games,
03:47the duration of this 2024 Stanley Cup final plus 194.
03:52Technically the shortest number is for this to go the distance and reach a seventh game,
03:56but plus 198 is six games as well.
04:00How competitive do you expect this Cup final to be
04:03and what it means overall for the entirety of the duration of this Cup final?
04:08I expect it to be a complete war out there Ben.
04:11I'm looking for these teams to go back and forth, trade wins and losses.
04:14Now this travel is going to start to grind them down.
04:17It will be interesting to see which team can fare better with that,
04:20but this does go six or seven in my opinion.
04:22This isn't going to come easy for either of these teams
04:25unless one of these goaltenders really falls off a cliff here.
04:29I can't see it happening. And when we do look at the goalies right now,
04:32I do think Skinner has shown the better performance than Wawrowski has.
04:37Wawrowski hasn't had the work that Skinner has had to face.
04:40So this is going to come down to the defenses.
04:43If Edmonton continue to play that style of defense,
04:46we know we have hot offenses on both sides of the puck,
04:49but this is going to be a hard-hitting game.
04:51You look at Sam Bennett, already 53 hits in the postseason here.
04:56He's going to be coming after Connor McDavid
04:58and we know Connor McDavid and Leon Dreisaitl
05:01have the ability to score on the best goaltenders out there.
05:04So that tandem is absolutely fantastic. You look at Corey Perry.
05:08This is his fifth Stanley Cup appearances with the fifth team here.
05:12He has that veteran presence. He's going to be building this team up.
05:16And then the Panthers, they have so many playmakers over there.
05:19So this isn't going to come easy to either of these teams.
05:21It goes six or at least seven. Joe, we got some pretty good parity here.
05:25If we take a look at the Kahn-Smith Trophy numbers,
05:28you're taking a look at six players at a 10-to-1 or less price.
05:31That's Bouchard, Dreisaitl, Kachuk, Wawrowski, Barkov, and McDavid here.
05:35And obviously, McDavid on the front end of the spectrum at a plus 220 price.
05:39But also keep in mind, his team not the favorites to win the Stanley Cup final.
05:43If you had to place a wager on who's going to win the Kahn-Smith Trophy right now,
05:47who would it be, Joe?
05:48You know what? Only once in history has a losing team seen
05:52the winner of the Kahn-Smith be their team.
05:55So Connor McDavid, you know the superstar level he's at.
05:58Would I be shocked if the Florida Panthers win this and he gets a Kahn-Smith?
06:02Absolutely not. At plus 220,
06:04I would put a little bit of money on that.
06:06If Edmonton comes out and wins this cup, though,
06:10I really do think, while it is pretty hard for us to make a case for Stewart Skinner,
06:17at plus 24,000 for Stewart Skinner here,
06:20he's going to win them, this cup.
06:22If he can stand on his head like he did versus the Dallas Stars,
06:25at plus 24,000, that would be my look.
06:27For the Florida Panthers, though,
06:29I really struggle with why Barkov is listed as the favorite for that team.
06:33I think Matthew Kuchak, he comes into this Stanley Cup Finals on a different level.
06:38I think he's going to be a huge playmaker, already 19 points in the playoffs.
06:43Sam Reinhart for this series at 55-1,
06:46and no love for Donnie's guy, even in Donnie's pitch.
06:49Donnie Dreisaitl for his cousin Lee on it, plus 850.
06:53They're that second best price for Edmonton.
06:56But Connor McDavid is the favorite.
06:58Oftentimes, Joe, in sports, an individual can transcend even team success.
07:03But here the Edmonton Oilers are, on the brink of winning a Stanley Cup,
07:08and Connor McDavid is into a Cup Final, finally.
07:12Five goals throughout this playoff run,
07:14but 26 assists so far in the postseason for the Oilers.
07:19The best player in the National Hockey League,
07:22now on the most significant of stages.
07:24Will Connor McDavid match that stage during the Stanley Cup Final?
07:28You know what? He absolutely could.
07:30Connor McDavid is such a lights-out player out there.
07:33He's going to be the difference-maker.
07:34Now, I think if you're going to bet on Connor McDavid, you go big.
07:3815-plus points in the playoffs is going to be so phenomenally hard
07:42because those goals aren't going to be easy.
07:43That's coming in at plus 870.
07:45But if you think he can tie Wayne Gretzky's record,
07:48he needs 16 points to hit 47 points in the postseason.
07:52That's coming in at plus 1400.
07:54I'd rather put a sprinkle on that the more I dig into these numbers.
07:57I do think Connor McDavid, he has a big game.
07:59I do think there's going to be one or two games here
08:02where these goaltenders get hit hard,
08:04and Connor McDavid gets three or four points in it.
08:06So if we can get that at 47 points,
08:10for his total points, he's got 31.
08:12Needs 16, you guys, at plus 1400.
08:14To beat Wayne Gretzky, he needs 48 points.
08:17Overtime hockey, Joe, we love it,
08:19specifically in the playoffs and the Stanley Cup Finals.
08:22You take a look at some of these fun betting markets here
08:23at the FanBull Sportsbook.
08:25If we get two or more overtime games plus 145,
08:27three or more overtime games at a plus 650 price.
08:30Any thoughts on this series being close?
08:32And also, will we see multiple overtimes?
08:36I absolutely love this bet.
08:37I think it's the best bet of the series.
08:39Looking at two plus overtimes during the series here,
08:42coming in at plus 145.
08:44Now, I do think you can ladder it up to three plus.
08:46I feel more comfortable with the two.
08:48But a bet that I like better than the three plus
08:51is one game to reach double overtime here.
08:54That's coming in at plus 390.
08:56I do think this is such a tight battle
08:58on a couple of these games.
08:59We will get that double overtime.
09:01If you think it can happen twice,
09:02it's a huge long shot, but it's plus 4400, you guys.
09:05I'm so tempted to hit it.
09:08You see a lot of parity in those Stanley Cup odds.
09:11It is expected to be close,
09:13and it starts on Saturday in sunrise
09:15between the Panthers and the Oilers.
09:17Joe Maddon, thank you for your breakdown
09:19and your preview of the 2024 Cup Final.