NHL Stanley Cup Final 2024: Odds, Hot Takes, Top Storylines for Game 7
With his team facing a sweep in the Stanley Cup Finals, Edmonton Oilers' coach Kris Knoblauch told reporters that he was, "very excited for the next 10 days."
Since then, the Western Conference champs have tied the series and Monday night, will play for the organization's first Cup since 1990.
Standing in their way is a Florida Panthers team reeling after allowing the Oilers to claw their way back into the series, seemingly with no answer for their surging opponents.
Will the Panthers find themselves the victim of a reverse sweep, a feat that has not been accomplished in just under eight decades or will they muster the aggression that defined their first three games and ensure the Stanley Cup does not return to Canada?
Those questions will be answered Monday night in Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida but before then, find out current odds, when and where to check out the game, and which hot takes and storylines bear watching with this preview.
Viewing Info and Current Odds
Viewing Options
Date: Monday, June 24
Time: 8:00 p.m.
TV: ABC
Streaming: ESPN+, Fubo TV
Odds
Florida Panthers (-115; bet $100, win $186.95)
Edmonton Oilers (-105; bet $100, win $195.23)
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook
Hot Take: Panthers Will Complete Historic Collapse
The good news for the Florida Panthers entering Monday's potentially historic Game 7 is that one team has reversed a 3-0 win streak once in this series.
That is about where it ends, though.
After going up 3-0 and appearing to have the Stanley Cup all but secured, thanks in large part to aggressive play that set the tone and put Edmonton in a deep, dark hole early in the series, the Florida saw their greatest strength used against them.
The Oilers, leaning on that gritty resiliency that defined their march through the season and into the playoffs, fought back with the same aggression that the Panthers used to their favor and now have the series knotted at three games apiece.
If Edmonton can complete the comeback, win the series and host the Stanley Cup, it will be the first time since 1942, when the Toronto Maple Leafs roared back from a three-game deficit to complete a reverse sweep and win the most coveted prize in the sport.
Not only will the Panthers find themselves embarrassingly on the wrong side of history, but they will experience the heartbreak that comes with getting so close to Lord Stanley's Cup, only to have it slip through their fingers for a second, consecutive year.
History suggests the Eastern Conference champs can halt their opponent's momentum, with teams who fought back from 3-0 deficits ending up just 4-5 in the series decider. Still, Florida looks like a team that is shell-shocked by the Oilers storming back in the manner that they have and Monday night will be the unfortunate culmination of their epic collapse.
Top Storyline: The Coronation of Connor McDavid
Connor McDavid has been the best player in professional hockey for years.
No player has more points than the 27-year-old center, who also surpassed Wayne Gretzky for most playoff assists in a single postseason in these playoffs.
An artist with the puck, he is a generational player who has lacked the one thing that would truly establish him as the undisputed face of hockey over any other player daring to challenge his throne: a Stanley Cup victory.
With 982 career points, a face-off percentage of 47.8, and 69 game-winning goals, he thrives when the pressure is on and has proven as much in this playoff run.
His 42 points are six shy of Gretzky's record for a single playoffs and while he is unlikely to net that many points in a single game Monday, it is a testament to the level of player he has been for Edmonton when the team needed him most.
A win Monday will erase all doubts about his place at the top of the NHL mountain today while also lending him credibility and legitimacy to take his place among the best to ever lace a pair of skates.
Does it help that he has Leon Draisaitl on the same team, the player with the third most points in hockey since 2015 and a star who can find the net on the nights when they offense is otherwise struggling? Sure, but even Gretzky benefited from having Mark Messier on the same team.
McDavid is the Oilers' captain, its leader, and the driving force behind their emergence from the bottom of the league early, their march into the postseason, and what may very well be a once unthinkable Stanley Cup victory.