Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the third Stanley Cup Final match.
Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers need good attacking actions to change the way the series go. Now it looks sad. McDavid, Draisaitl, Hyman and Bouchard have less points than Anton Lundell (Florida Panthers). Bouchard terribly lost the pack to let the opponent score their decisive goal. He’s obviously tired. He had to play over 30 minutes to a Darnell Nurse’s (0+3) injury. Probably, it may be the same again.
Florida Panthers
Florida proved they’re controlled by their head coach. After an easy win, gained by Bobrovsky, the Panthers performed perfectly in the defensive actions. They presented a holiday to their goaltender: only 19 attempts made by the opponent, 9 from the upper spot and only 1 really dangerous with 1.07 xG. Good defence gives extra strengths to Panthers, letting them improve during a game. These play-offs see the Panthers having +17 GD in 3 periods, which is the 5th best performance in the NHL history. The Panthers are between the Stars (+17 in 1999) and the Devils (+18 in 2003). Both teams gained the title.
Oilers vs Panthers prediction
The Oilers scored only once in the first two games. They try get the upper hand at home. On average, they score 3.98 goals in Edmonton.
The Panthers’ defence covers the Oilers perfectly well. The Oilers have no players of the same level as Evan Rodrigues and Vladimir Tarasenko.
