NHL Stanley Cup Final Prediction: Will the Edmonton Oilers or Florida Panthers Win It All?

It's all come down to two teams battling it out for the Stanley Cup. Adam Proteau predicts which team will win between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers.

The NHL's Stanley Cup final takes place from June 8 until as late as June 24, and it’s as good a time as any to look back at this writer’s post-season series predictions. 

We were 8-4 heading into the third round of the playoffs, but we went 0-2 in the conference finals. Still, 8-6 could be worse, right? 

Let’s finish things off with our pick to win the Cup final.

Why the Oilers could win: We’ve bet against the Oilers in all three rounds they’ve played this spring, and they've beaten the Los Angeles Kings, Vancouver Canucks and Dallas Stars to upset our predictions’ apple cart. 

The Oilers’ high-octane offense has been the driver of their success, and they’re getting just enough above-average goaltending to beat out teams that, on paper at least, are better than them.

Superstar forwards Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl and top defenseman Evan Bouchard have done their part to get Edmonton where they are today, but supporting role players Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins have also delivered when the games matter most. 

So long as goalie Stuart Skinner doesn’t completely fall apart, the Oilers will use their speed and instincts to attack Florida and put the aggressive Panthers on their heels.

This Oilers team has pluck and verve, and they will almost assuredly win at least a couple of games against Florida. The question is how they’ll respond to the Panthers’ physical attack. If they maintain their composure, the Oilers have enough star power to put Florida in a very difficult position.

Why the Panthers could win: The Panthers had extremely tough tests in their first three playoff series this spring. But they knocked off the Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers with their robust physical style and the contributions of top forwards Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk. 

Forwards Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Bennett also have stepped up with timely goals, and defensemen Gustav Forsling, Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour are eating up major minutes on the back end. 

There’s incredible balance in this group of players, and Florida GM Bill Zito knows he’s never going to get as good a shot at the Cup as this one.

Panthers coach Paul Maurice is pressing all the right buttons for his team, and many people around the NHL would love to see him rewarded with a Cup. 

Florida still needs solid goaltending from Sergei Bobrovsky to thwart the Oilers’ high-pressure pushes into the Panthers’ zone, but don’t kid yourself – Edmonton has yet to play a team as complete and determined as the Panthers.

Florida has outstanding depth, an ornery disposition, and the bitter taste still in their collective mouth from last year’s defeat in the Cup final. That’s just about all you can ask for from them. Because of that, Edmonton will face an uphill battle.

Who will win: Panthers, in six games

Just like last season, the Panthers went through stretches where they were ineffective. In the final 16 games of the regular season, Florida went 7-7-2. 

But since the post-season began, they’ve lost five games in total, and they’ve never needed more than six games to decide one of their three playoff series. They’ve played fewer minutes than Edmonton has this post-season, and that’s only going to help the Panthers as the war of attrition continues.

Florida doesn’t need to put up highlight-reel moments (you know, the kind McDavid and Draisaitl have made a career out of creating) to win them playoff games, but they’ve got unrivalled depth, Cup-winning experience from winger Vladimir Tarasenko and a complete lack of passengers. 

With the outstanding Barkov leading the way, the Panthers are a confident bunch that can wear down Edmonton and capitalize on defensive miscues the Oilers make.

The Oilers will win a game or two in this matchup, but ultimately, the Panthers are the best team in the NHL, and they’ll deservedly win their first Cup in franchise history. Time will tell whether this final prediction of the playoffs comes true. 

Get the latest news and trending stories right to your inbox by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here.