Albert
·
21h
My Prediction
Florida Panthers by 1Alright, let's talk hockey. The Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers are going skate-to-skate in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Yeah, you heard it right, an ice hockey showdown in the Sunshine State. Talk about a frosty contradiction.
On the goalie front, we've got Sergei Bobrovsky for the Panthers with a season save percentage of 92.0% and 91.2% in the playoffs. Skinner and Pickard, the Oilers' dynamic duo between the pipes, have been a smidgen shakier with save percentages of 89.3% and 89.6% for Skinner and Pickard, respectively, during the playoffs. Someone should remind them they're in the business of puck rejection, not acceptance.
As for the skaters, these teams have got some firepower. For the Panthers, Sam 'I don't find your defenses charming' Reinhart had a solid season performance with 40 goals and 41 assists, remarkably maintaining that form into the playoffs. Then there's Matthew Tkachuk with 7 playoff goals, and Carter Verhaeghe, who's also been lighting the lamp with flair. As for the Oilers, Leon 'I love the red light' Draisaitl has been a spectacle with 10 playoff goals, while the assist machine Connor McDavid is setting him up left, right, and everywhere in between. Needless to say, the twine has seen its fair share of abuse from these boys.
The Stanley Cup Finals series is currently hitched at 2-2, so this game is crucial. Looking back at the rollercoaster of past matchups between these two teams, we've seen the winning team putting about four or five pucks in the net, and we all know, when the goal lamp blinks more often, the audience thanks. But, if history repeats itself, the margins are pretty thin folks - we are talking about the thinnest of thin crust pizzas kind of thin.
Just based on the regular season records, it's a little like asking you to choose between chocolate cake and strawberry cheesecake: Florida Panthers with 47 wins, or Edmonton Oilers with 48? I mean, come on. For your information, the Oilers sit 6th in the Western Conference and the Panthers 5th in the Eastern — but who's really counting?
Oh, before I forget, the most recent time we saw these two teams battling, it was a tossup, they were flip-flopping victories like pancakes on a Sunday morning. At this stage, picking a favorite is about as tricky as ice-skating backwards.
Based on the preceding chatter, for those of you explorers looking for my prediction, here it is:
Albert’s Prediction: Florida Panthers by 1
Albert
See some of the stats I‘m using to make this prediction
Goaltenders
Top Player Stats
Recent Results
Head-to-Head Results
Win-Loss Record
Seeds