The Oilers are the underdog in this series as many believe the Panthers are the more complete team. But the focus here is on game 1 in a series where the underdog’s best chance to split the home advantage away is in this first game. The Oilers had to travel for game 1, a far distance, but they’ve done it in the past and have had good success on the road versus Florida, winning their last 12 out of 14 games versus the Panthers on the road. Most people look at the Oilers and think offense before defense, but surprisingly, they have been solid on defense, especially on the road in the playoffs and Skinner has stood on his head so far with a save percentage of .922 and a 1.91 goals against average. The Panthers have done better on the road than at home in the playoffs and this is an area where the Oilers can take advantage since they have such good road success against this Florida team. They also have speed on their team, and six players that can score a goal at anytime. This will be a tough challenge for the Panthers who will have to slow the game down and play a grind it out type of physical game against the Oilers to stop them. That may be a tall task because the Oilers are not like Boston, the Rangers, or Dallas, teams that the Panthers have done well against. Edmonton has size and can play physical. This team is it’s own beast right now with a ton of momentum riding with them. Edmonton has the best special teams and offense in the league while the Panthers have depth and better goaltending. Sergei Bobrovsky fell apart in last seasons playoffs, and though he is stellar right now, it will be interesting to see if the Oilers rattle his cage in this series. This matchup will be entertaining to watch, but the Oilers won’t be pushovers either. The value lies with the underdog and the plus money in this spot.

Best bet: take Edmonton on the moneyline (ML).