Stanley Cup Finals Game 3 Same Game Parlays

Following an impressive pair of home wins to take a stranglehold in the Stanley Cup Final, the Vegas Golden Knights look to continue their run to the first championship in club history by travelling to South Florida for Game 3 with the Florida Panthers on Thursday. Despite getting outscored 12-4 in the first two games, it’s probably not a good idea to give up on the Panthers just yet after watching them dispose of some of the best teams in the Eastern Conference to get here. All the Floridians have to do is pull up memories of their stirring upset over the record-setting Boston Bruins in the first round when they rebounded from a 3-1 series deficit to win three straight games. The NHL odds are against them since a low percentage of teams have ever recovered from a 0-2 hole to win a playoff series. Florida opened as a slight home favorite on the NHL betting line at BetRivers sportsbook.

Daily NHL Picks for Thursday, June 8

Stanley Cup Final – Game 3

Vegas at Florida, 8 p.m. ET (TNT)

Vegas Golden Knights at Florida Panthers

The Vegas Golden Knights are only halfway to their first Stanley Cup title in franchise history, but after two dismantlings of the Eastern Conference champions their quest seems much further along. During a three-period stretch starting with the final 20 minutes of Game 1 and ending after the second period of Game 2, the Knights showed why they’ve been so successful this postseason. They outscored Florida in that span 7-0 with seven different players netting a goal even though they were outshot 35-31 in those 60 minutes.

I mentioned the scoring depth of Vegas in previous articles and that’s proven to be a bonus for them and too much for the Panthers so far to contain. Jonathan Marchessault scored twice and had three points in Game 2 while Brett Howden added a pair of tallies. Nine different Vegas players have scored in the first two games and 13 players have scored multiple goals during the postseason.

Florida netminder Sergei Bobrovsky was a top NHL pick to win the Conn Smythe Trophy when the Stanley Cup Final started. But the Golden Knights weren’t impressed knocking him out of Game 2 after scoring four times in the first 27:10 And Vegas took advantage of Florida’s undisciplined play again scoring two power play goals for the second straight game. The Knights are 4 of 11 on the PP while also going perfect in seven shorthanded situations. Special teams are always a deciding factor and right now the Knights are winning the battle.

That’s not to say things won’t change with the Panthers at home in front of their rabid fans. But let’s face it they made some bonehead plays in Vegas with leading scorer Matthew Tkachuk a big problem. In the latter stages of Game 1 with Florida down a pair, Tkachuk was assessed a double minor and a misconduct taking him off the ice for the final four and a half minutes. Not that he would have made a difference in the outcome of the game, but we’ll never know.

In Game 2, Tkachuk was assessed two misconduct penalties and played just under 16 minutes. In 79 regular season games his average time on ice was over 20 minutes and he’s been used two minutes more on average in the postseason. Tkachuk had 31 more points than the team’s second leading scorer during the season and his 22 playoff points are tied for the second-most. The Panthers need the former first round NHL draft pick on the ice where he can do more damage on the scoresheet rather than sitting in the penalty box.

Tkachuk said the Panthers aren’t going to change their game plan and will continue to play a physical style. That’s the way they’ve done things all season and it’s worked out perfectly in the playoffs. However, Vegas can play a physical game as well while being the more disciplined squad. Things will be different on Thursday, though, with Tkachuk controlling his emotions I can see him making a difference on the scoresheet leading to a Panthers win on my NHL picks and parlay.

Stanley Cup Game 3 Same Game Parlay Picks: Florida -120 / OVER 6

Check out the latest NHL betting odds at BetRivers.