Florida Eyes Second Straight Stanley Cup Final Berth
The Rangers vs Panthers Game 6 Odds Favor the Hosts to Finish the Job
The Florida Panthers can clinch their second straight Stanley Cup Final berth with a win over the New York Rangers in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final on Saturday night at Amerant Bank Arena. The Rangers vs Panthers odds list the latter as the -170 favorite on the money line.
Florida has won two straight and has sent New York to the brink of elimination with a 3-2 win in Game 5. Anton Lundell, Gustav Forsling, and Sam Bennett each scored, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 25 saves, helping the Panthers improve to 6-2 on the road in the playoffs.
Chris Kreider and Alexis Lafreniere each scored for New York, Mika Zibanejad had two assists and Igor Shesterkin was once again sensational, stopping 34 shots in defeat. The Rangers will face elimination for the first time in the postseason but are 5-2 on the road in these playoffs.
Rangers vs Panthers 
Records: New York Rangers (65-27-5), Florida Panthers (63-27-8)Â
Day/Time:
Location: Amarent Bank Arena, Sunrise, FL
Streaming: ESPN, ESPN+
Florida Heavily Favored
If you’re hoping to get favorable Florida Panthers betting odds, you’re a little late.
The Panthers were getting PDO’d to near-extinction over the first three games, to the point where they were a +140 underdog to advance to the Cup Final ahead of Game 4.
But Florida is a -170 favorite for Game 6, which comes with a 63% implied probability and is a whopping -500 to reach the Cup Final — which gives it an 83.3% chance of winning the East.
The Panthers have dominated at 5-on-5, carrying about a 60% advantage in 5-on-5 shot attempts and a 61.88% Expected Goals differential in the series even though each team has seven 5-on-5 goals.
Shesterkin is largely responsible for the Rangers’ success in the series, proven by his .947 save% and eye-popping 4.41 goals above average at 5-on-5. But the weight of carrying his team may be starting to show since Lundell’s tie-breaking goal slipped through his arm and body — even though Panthers forward Vladimir Tarasenko was providing a screen.
Bobrovsky has also been much better the past two games, allowing just four goals on 50 shots in the past two games. But the Panthers are just 2-2 in potential closeout games this postseason, including a 1-1 record on home ice.
Wearing Down
Florida’s physical forecheck has a way of grinding teams down, and it has done so to the Rangers in this series.
The New York Rangers have scored first and outshot the Panthers in the first period in each of the past two games only to be thoroughly outplayed over the final 40 minutes of regulation.
Florida boasts a 6-2 third-period goal differential in the series and has outshot New York 49-23 in the third period or later over the past three games.
The Rangers were the Presidents’ Trophy winners as the team to finish with the most regular-season points and have been super-opportunistic all playoffs long. They have been resilient, especially while short-handed, since they have an NHL-high six man-down goals, including Kreider’s icebreaker in Game 5.
New York should come out desperate again in Game 6, especially given the way it has played on the road all postseason. But it’s hard to see New York dialing up enough energy to fend off Florida’s inevitable onslaught.
More Lineup Tweaks
Panthers coach Paul Maurice has gone with the same 18 skaters over the past two games. Thus, he is unlikely to make any tweaks to his lineup with the chance to clinch the Prince of Wales Trophy.
It may be a different story for Rangers coach Peter Laviolette in Game 6. He re-inserted Filip Chytil for veteran Blake Wheeler in Game 5, and Chytil was an impact player on New York’s top line despite failing to register a point.
Still, Wheeler could be a candidate to draw back in for Game 6, especially given the number of unimpressive forwards the Rangers are trotting out. Fan-favorite Matt Rempe played just four shifts, totaling 2:43 in ice time, in Game 5, and Kaapo Kakko, who was a healthy scratch in Game 2, has just two points in 14 playoff games and got caught behind the play on Lundell’s go-ahead goal.
Laviolette has fewer lineup options without forward Jimmy Vesey, who has missed the past three games with an upper-body injury. Plus, Wheeler isn’t a fool-proof solution since he took a huge penalty that led to Sam Reinhart’s game-winning power-play goal in overtime that effectively flipped the series in Game 5.
But at this point Laviolette needs to do something to generate a spark to his lineup.
Consider the Puck Line
If you peruse the NHL scores today, you know the under has hit in four of the first five games in this series, with the 5-4 Game 3 Rangers win serving as the outlier.
Thus, the -135 odds of under 5.5 goals at DraftKings, which carries a 57.45% implied probability is essential betting, especially if you’re considering a same-game parlay.
Even though the goal differential in this series has been extremely tight — Florida holds a 14-11 advantage with two empty-net goals — elimination games sometimes can get out of hand. Teams trailing while facing elimination have nothing to lose, which is when coaches pull their goalies early in the third period.
Despite its 2-2 record, Florida has a plus-2 goal differential in potential clinching games this year, including its dominant 6-1 effort in the first round against the Tampa Bay Lightning. If you feel the Panthers are going to clinch the Eastern Conference on home ice — which they did with a 4-3 win over Carolina last year — a small wager on them to cover -1.5 at +154 is worth the risk.
Prediction
The Panthers are rolling. The Rangers are reeling.
If you picked Florida to win the East with a futures bet or in your NHL playoff bracket pool, it’s safe to think you’re going to get your payout in Game 6.
Panthers 4, Rangers 1
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