Sportsbooks, bettors favor Oilers in Cup Final

The Edmonton Oilers volition participate the Stanley Cup Final arsenic precise flimsy favorites to extremity Canada's 32-year title drought, and the bulk of bettors crossed North America are backing it to happen.

Edmonton sports choky -125 likelihood to triumph the Stanley Cup implicit the Florida Panthers, according to ESPN BET lines. The sportsbook opened the matchup astatine -110 for each side, but dense betting enactment yet pushed the Oilers to arsenic agelong arsenic -130, earlier settling astatine the existent number.

Assuming the lines hold, Edmonton volition necktie the Vegas Golden Knights, who defeated the Panthers successful 2023, arsenic the longest favorites heading into the Stanley Cup Final since 2007, per humanities betting information from SportsOddsHistory.com.

"These teams lucifer up truly well, and we mightiness beryllium looking astatine a prime 'em connected neutral ice," ESPN BET manager of North American sports trading Adrian Horton said implicit email. "Edmonton person been precise beardown astatine location passim the playoffs, truthful hosting Games 1 and 2, and a Game 7 if it comes down to it, accounts for their flimsy borderline heading into the series."

The betting nationalist has supported the Oilers passim the play successful the futures marketplace and that has continued into the title series. Including eliminated teams, Edmonton attracted a starring 22.5% of wagers and 18.5% of grip to triumph the Stanley Cup astatine ESPN BET; erstwhile paring that down to lone unfastened wagers, the Oilers clasp a 67% stake and 60.4% wealth vantage implicit the Panthers.

BetMGM and FanDuel enactment that Edmonton has the bulk of wagers and grip specifically for bid betting, with the second noting that the astir fashionable enactment successful the Series Correct Score marketplace is Oilers 4-2. The erstwhile says that its betting enactment successful Ontario, Canada, is mostly successful enactment with the remainder of the continent, arsenic Edmonton has 58% of the bets and 52% of the wealth there.

"BetMGM is pulling for the Panthers successful a Stanley Cup Finals rematch," BetMGM elder sports trader Matthew Rasp said successful an email release. "The Oilers person been a losing effect for america each season."

Of course, the 1 jurisdiction wherever bettors are supporting the Panthers is Florida. Hard Rock Bet, the state's sole sports betting operator, reports that 64% of wagers are backing the hometown team, compared to 34% successful each different states wherever the sportsbook operates. For Game 1 specifically, that fig jumps up to 70% of bets and 77% of grip backing the Cats.

At ESPN BET, 42% of bets and 56.3% of grip are backing the Panthers moneyline (currently +100) for Game 1, portion 40.8% of bets and 85.2% of grip are connected the Oilers puckline of -1.5 (+190).

At the sportsbook's counterpart successful Ontario, theScore Bet, implicit 65% of wealth is backing Edmonton to triumph and implicit 71% is backing them to screen the spread.