Morning Coffee: How will Oilers respond as Underdog for Game 3 of Stanley Cup Final?

The Roland-Garros finale was an unforgettable epic.

The best tennis players on the planet battled back-and-forth relentlessly for a total of five hours and 29 minutes before a champion was ultimately crowned.

By the time the marathon was done, it was officially the second-longest men’s major final by time on the court.

Carlos Alcaraz dropped the first two sets but then rallied from three match points down in the fourth set to stun the top-seeded Jannik Sinner in a remarkable display of skill and athleticism.

The Spaniard could be found as high as +5000 live to win the match outright at FanDuel.

After one of the most spectacular comebacks in the history of the sport, Alcaraz was crowned Roland-Garros champion for the second year in a row and became the fourth player in the Open Era to win each of their first five major final appearances.

It makes sense that Game 2 of the NBA Finals wasn’t nearly as dramatic.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder cruised to a 123-107 win over the Indiana Pacers as an 11.5-point favourite on Sunday night to tie the series 1-1.

SGA led the way again with a game-high 34 points and eight assists as Oklahoma City improved to 17-2 after a loss dating back to the regular season.

The Thunder opened -3.5 for Game 3 in Indiana, but that number quickly climbed to OKC -4.5 at FanDuel.

Meanwhile, the Thunder to win the NBA championship shifted from -330 to -560.

The Pacers are +168 to win Game 3 on Wednesday night and +420 to win the title at FanDuel this morning.

Now the focus shifts back to the NHL, with Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers on deck tonight.

As far as marathons go, this year’s Stanley Cup Final has been as good as it gets through two games.

It’s just the sixth time in NHL history that each of the first two games of a Stanley Cup Final has required overtime.

Coming off the first multi-overtime game since the 2020, the Oilers and Panthers have battled relentlessly over nine periods of hockey only to have their best-of-seven reduced to a best-of-five series.

Now the stage is set for a pivotal Game 3, with the Cats getting the nod as the biggest moneyline favourite so far in this year’s Stanley Cup Final.

This is the Morning Coffee for Monday June 9th, 2025.

Will Oilers Respond As Underdog For Game 3 Of The Stanley Cup Final?

The Panthers opened -132 to win Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on home ice tonight.

That number has shifted to Florida -140 this morning.

Considering how evenly matched the first two games of the series were in Edmonton and the change in home-ice advantage, nobody should be surprised that the Panthers are the biggest moneyline favourite so far in this series.

In last year’s Stanley Cup Final, Florida won three of the four games at Amerant Bank Arena.

After handing the Oilers just their second loss in nine home games so far this postseason, the Panthers are a popular pick to win Game 3 tonight.

Per the FanDuel traders, 52 per cent of the bets are on Florida to win outright.

74 percent of the bets in their puck line market are on the Panthers to win by two or more goals.

Meanwhile, 65 per cent of the bets are on the total to go over 6.5 goals, which is something we saw happen at plus-money in each of the first two games of the series. 

What are the odds that Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final goes to overtime?

FanDuel has the “YES” option at +350 – a 22.2 per cent implied probability.

Eventually, one of these games will be decided in regulation.

I’m sure fans of both teams don’t care when it ends, if it’s their favourite team that comes out on top.

This is the 31st time in NHL history that a best-of-seven Stanley Cup Final series has been tied 1-1.

In the previous 30 instances, the winner of Game 3 has gone on to win the Stanley Cup 77 per cent of the time.

If the Oilers want to pull off the upset, slowing down Sam Bennett would be a good place to start.

Sam Bennett, who leads all scorers with 13 goals this postseason, is down to +195 to score a goal tonight after he could be found as high as +230 to score in Game 2.

Florida is 9-2 this postseason when Bennett scores.

That’s a big reason why Bennett to win the Conn Smythe Trophy has been cut from +3900 to +480 as the third choice in that market over the past seven days.

Meanwhile, Edmonton’s top priority remains solving Sergei Bobrovsky, who remains the second choice in FanDuel’s Conn Smythe Trophy winner market.

Bobrovsky, who has made exactly 42 saves in each of the first two games of this series, has an over/under set at 25.5 saves for tonight’s Game 3.

Now is probably a good time for me to confirm that I bet the over.

For the Oilers, Conn Smythe Trophy favourite Connor McDavid is the only player from either team who isn’t plus money to record two or more points tonight.

After registering five assists in the first two games, McDavid to register 2+ points tonight is -111.

McDavid to record 2+ assists is +186 at FanDuel.

McDavid to finish with 3+ points for the second time in this series is +285.

While the Panthers are the favourite to win tonight’s game, Leon Draisaitl has the shortest odds to score a goal of any player from either team at +115.

McDavid is right behind him at +150 to score a goal.

One other notable anytime goal scorer prop – Evan Bouchard is +440 to score in Game 3.

Bouchard, who has led all skaters in shots on goal in each of the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final with 15 combined, is also plus money to record 3+ shots on goal.

Bouchard 3+ shots on goal is +114 at FanDuel.

Bouchard 4+ shots on goal is +290.

Bouchard 5+ shots on goal is +630.

Considering he’s registered at least seven shots on goal in each of the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final, the Bouchard shots on goal props are worth a look as a potential ladder option for Game 3.

As for a FanDuel Best Bet, I’ll go with Bouchard 3+ shots on goal at +114.

While I’m 2-for-2 in the Stanley Cup Final playing builder SGPs, there’s no doubt that Bouchard 3+ shots on goal at +114 is the best value for tonight’s’ game.

In Game 1, Bouchard registered a game-high seven shots on goal on a game-high 14 shot attempts.

He was followed closely by fellow defenceman Jake Walman, who had five shots on goal on 12 attempts.

No Oilers forward had more than eight shot attempts.

Then in Game 2, Bouchard had a game-high eight shots on goal on a game-high 14 shot attempts and was rewarded with his first goal of the series.

Maybe he won’t get to seven or eight shots on goal again in Game 3, but I’ll roll the dice on Bouchard to get three or more shots on goal at +114.

I’ll also be on Bouchard 4+ shots on goal and 5+ shots on goal as a realistic ladder option at excellent odds.

Finally, in case you missed it, you might want to look at the latest additions to FanDuel’s betting options for the Stanley Cup Final.

Evander Kane over/under 4.5 hits in Game 3.

What about Bennett over/under 4.5 hits?

You can now bet on the total number of hits that select players will record in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Considering the magnitude of what’s at stake tonight, we should be in for another heated affair.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to anybody if Kane and Bennett were involved in a very physical game.

If Bouchard leads all skaters in shots on goal again in Game 3, I’m sure I’ll be happy with tonight’s game regardless of which team ultimately comes out on top.

Have a great day, everyone!