The Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers are on a collision course to repeat last year's Stanley Cup Final.
The Oilers took a 3-1 series lead Tuesday night to join the Panthers at one win away from reaching the finals. Florida will try to punch its ticket to defend the Cup on Wednesday on the road in Carolina.
But neither series is over, and there's still a chance for either a Dallas Stars or Carolina Hurricanes comeback. There have been 32 instances where a team erased a 3-1 deficit dating back to 1942, most recently by the Panthers when they stormed back on the Presidents' Trophy-winning Boston Bruins in 2023.
The odds are stacked against them, but the Hurricanes are +750 (11.8% implied probability) and the Stars are +600 (14.3% implied probability) at theScore Bet/ESPN Bet to win their respective series.
That means there's roughly a 26% implied probability that one of the Stars or Hurricanes is in the Stanley Cup Final. When laid like that, it's not a sure-fire guarantee that we'll have a rematch of last year on our hands.
It's must-win from here on out for both teams down 3-1. Carolina is in a coin-flip contest at home Wednesday, with the moneyline at -110 a side. Dallas is a slight -125 favorite for its Thursday night matchup.
If you think there could be a comeback on deck, now would be a great time to back either the Stars or Hurricanes to win the Stanley Cup. Dallas is +1400 and Carolina is +1600, which will be closer to even money if either team wins its next three games.
But if you think it's another Oilers-Panthers final, then now is the time to back your pick to hoist Lord Stanley's Cup. Edmonton and Florida are both +110 to win it all, odds that will be shorter if both teams advance.
