Morning Coffee: Panthers poised for third straight Stanley Cup Final appearance

The Florida Panthers are inevitable.

Dread it, run from it, destiny still arrives.

The Panthers have been collecting wins in the Stanley Cup Playoffs like Thanos collecting Infinity Stones.

Now, Matthew Tkachuk and company are one win away from turning the Carolina Hurricanes to dust in the most lopsided Eastern Conferences Final in recent memory.

Florida can advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the third year in a row with a win tonight as a heavy favourite on home ice for Game 4 against the Hurricanes.

With three of the top 10 choices to win the Stanley Cup at FanDuel out of the way, the Cats will soon turn their attention to the Stanley Cup Final, with the potential for an epic rematch on the game’s biggest stage on deck.

The Edmonton Oilers are two wins away from a return trip to the Cup Final.

Connor McDavid and company can’t undo what the Cats did last year in the championship round, but they can avenge it.

This is the Morning Coffee for Monday May 26th, 2025.

Panthers poised for third straight Stanley Cup Final appearance

The Panthers are on the verge of their third trip to the Stanley Cup Final in as many years.

If any team is going to stop them, they’ll need McDavid.

The Oilers captain scored the second and third goals in Edmonton’s 6-1 win over the Dallas Stars in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final on Sunday.

It was McDavid’s sixth-career multi-goal playoff game and 44th multi-point postseason performance.

For perspective, opponents have held McDavid off the scoresheet only 20 times in the playoffs in his career.

He’s registered exactly one point in 24 playoff games.

McDavid has 44 multi-point performances in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, compared to 44 combined games with one or zero points.

No wonder FanDuel had him at -120 to record two or more points in Game 3 while every other player was plus money.

McDavid leads all skaters with 22 points through 14 games this postseason.

While the captain sparked the Oilers offence, their depth was on display once again in the Game 3 win.

Zach Hyman scored twice in the third period.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Evander Kane both registered three assists in the victory.

Meanwhile, Stuart Skinner’s shutout streak ended, but he impressed again with 33 saves in the win.

With the victory, Skinner tied Andy Moog for the third-most playoff wins by a goaltender in franchise history.

The Stars avoided another shutout loss thanks to a goal by Jason Robertson, but their offensive struggles continued with Roope Hintz out of the lineup.

Dallas has scored one goal in its last three road games.

The Stars were shut out twice by Connor Hellebuyck in Winnipeg in the second round and have managed just a single goal in their last six periods versus Edmonton.

The Oilers are -166 to win Game 4 and -365 to win the series at FanDuel this morning.

Dallas is +138 to win Game 4, +285 to win the series, and +700 to win the Stanley Cup.

What would the odds be for a Stanley Cup Final rematch between Edmonton and Florida?

While the Panthers are a slight favourite to win it all right now thanks in part to a 3-0 series lead, FanDuel would make a Stanley Cup Finals rematch a pick’em, with each team listed at -110 to win it all.

As somebody with tickets on Florida to win its series, Florida -1.5, and Florida to win Game 4 at -166, I’d love to see the Eastern Conference Final end tonight.

Meanwhile, Edmonton to win the Western Conference Final at -110 looks pretty good this morning.

For Oilers Nation, Game 4 on Tuesday night can’t get here soon enough.

As for a FanDuel Best Bet for tonight, I jumped on the Panthers at -166 to win outright, but it’s since climbed all the way to -188 at FanDuel.

If you’re a regular reader, then you know I expect Florida’s second line to dominate again tonight.

As for a FanDuel Best Bet, I’ll give out a builder Same Game Parlay with Sam Bennett +2 shots on goal, Carter Verhaeghe 2+ shots on goal, and Sebastian Aho 1+ shot on goal at -110 odds.

Bennett and Verhaeghe had a ton of scoring chances again in Game 3, and those opportunities should translate to at least a couple of shots on goal for both.

Meanwhile, Aho has been Carolina’s best player this entire postseason, so I hope I can count on him for one shot on goal in an elimination game tonight.

Have a great day, everyone.