Morning Coffee: All eyes on McDavid, Draisaitl for Game 3 Of Stanley Cup Final

The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.

We’d all be a lot better off in this world without either.

The Boston Celtics were -220 to win the championship at FanDuel entering Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

That number would have been a lot higher if it wasn’t for 90 per cent of the bets being on the Dallas Mavericks to win the title.

Despite an ugly start to the series on the road, FanDuel bettors doubled down on Dallas before Game 4.

In the 24 hours before last night’s game, an astounding 96 per cent of the wagers on the NBA Finals were on Luka Doncic and company to win the championship at +540.

Yes, the Mavericks managed to make the final score respectable in each of the past two games.

Still, they never really looked like they had a chance in either game, and the Celtics have now won 10 straight games dating back to the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, including winning each of the first three games of the NBA Finals by seven points or more.

Last night, Boston cashed as a +120 moneyline underdog at FanDuel.

Teams that go up 3-0 in a best-of-seven NBA playoffs are 156-0 all-time.

The Celtics are -7000 to win the title at FanDuel.

Dallas is +2000 to win the championship down 3-0.

The Mavericks are -112 to avoid the sweep with a win on their home floor on Friday night.

With Boston on the verge of a sweep in an extremely lopsided NBA Finals, hockey fans are hoping that we don’t see something similar in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Despite an ugly start to the series, the Edmonton Oilers are a considerable favourite for Game 3 on home ice.

Per the FanDuel traders, a heavy majority of the stakes for tonight’s game are on Edmonton to win.

This is the Morning Coffee for Thursday, June 13^th, 2024.

All Eyes On McDavid, Draisaitl Entering Game 3 Of The Stanley Cup Final

The Oilers have scored one goal through the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final.

The good news is that despite their offensive struggles, Edmonton has been competitive in each of the first two games.

The bad news is that the Oilers are coming off one of their worst offensive performances of the season in Game 2 and still need to figure out how to solve the Conn Smythe Trophy favourite Sergei Bobrovsky.

In Game 1, Bobrovsky delivered the best single-game performance of any goalie this postseason.

In Game 2, the Florida Panthers woke up and didn’t give up a single high-danger shot attempt at 5-on-5.

Florida scored as many goals in the third period as Edmonton has scored in its last three games combined.

Despite their struggles, the Oilers are up to -138 to win Game 3 on home ice tonight.

Per the FanDuel traders, 69 per cent of the stakes on tonight’s game are on Edmonton to win.

The historical numbers underline how important tonight’s game is for the Oilers.

Teams that go up 3-0 in a best-of-seven Stanley Cup Final are 27-1 all-time.

If the Oilers can find a way to win on home ice tonight, we have a series.

If they don’t, it should be curtains for Canada’s team.

11 of the last 14 teams to face a 2-0 series deficit in the Stanley Cup Final have rallied to win Game 3.

In 2006, Edmonton won Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final and went seven games against the Carolina Hurricanes after falling behind 2-0 to start the series.

As somebody who bet on Florida to win it all, there’s nothing from the first two games that indicates to me that the Oilers will win the series.

Still, a lot can change if Edmonton could find a way to get on the board with a win tonight.

To have a chance, the Oilers need their superstar talent to step up and produce offensively.

Edmonton is 2-9 this postseason when Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl do not record a point.

We could see McDavid and Draisaitl on the ice together a lot tonight.

Home ice should be a factor as Kris Knoblauch should utilize the last line change to get his best players some more favourable matchups.

Per Stathletes, McDavid has played 32:21 at five-on-five through the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final.

The Panthers have been able to get Gustav Forsling on the ice for 73 per cent of McDavid’s five-on-five ice time.

Sam Reinhart has been on the ice for 59 per cent of McDavid’s five-on-five ice time.

Aleksander Barkov has been on the ice 54 per cent of McDavid’s five-on-five ice time.

Despite facing the toughest possible matchups, McDavid still leads all forwards in shots on goal, shot attempts and scoring chances created.

With their backs against the wall in a must-win game on home ice, I expect the best hockey player on the planet to be locked in with a suitable response.

That brings me to my FanDuel Best Bet for Game 3.

In case you missed it, I’ve been absolutely on fire with my recommendations to this point.

At the same time, it’s important to please play responsibly.

After all, the greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.

We can set expectations based on all the information available to us, but there is no such thing as a lock.

For my FanDuel Best Bet, I’ll lock in a Same Game Parlay with McDavid 3+ shots on goal and Draisaitl 2+ shots on goal at -148 odds.

In Game 1, McDavid recorded a team-high six shots on goal on eight attempts.

In Game 2, McDavid finished with three shots on goal on five attempts.

McDavid has recorded 2+ shots on goal in six straight games.

He’s registered 3+ shots on goal in five of six.

In a must-win game on home ice, I’m comfortable playing McDavid 3+ shots on goal.

Meanwhile, Draisaitl has registered six shots on goal through the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final.

He’s still looking for his first point of the series.

After registering at least two shots on goal in seven of his previous nine games, including each of the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final, it’s fair to consider two shots on goal his floor for a must-win game on home ice.

I’ll lock in a Same Game Parlay with McDavid 3+ shots on goal and Draisaitl 2+ shots on goal at -148 odds as my FanDuel Best Bet for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Hopefully, we can stay hot with another winner.

Have a great day, everyone!