Miss me numpties? After a brief respite, I’m back to discuss the culmination of the greatest tournament in professional sports. Lord Stanley’s Cup will be awarded in a mere four to seven games. And… unlike the NBA Finals, this familiar matchup is going to be electric, and the ratings should match.
Quick Programming Note: Before I dive into the rematch of the year, we here at GENY have been pumping out articles daily, every weekday, since we started. As the Editor-in-Chief, I have made the decision to shift our focus slightly. As I have been writing these last few weeks, sometimes 3 or 4 articles per week to make sure that something is on the website each day, I have noticed a decline in the quality. I’m using myself as an example, but it’s been a recurring theme across the pages, and I think it’s time to make a change.
We are going to be retooling our website’s appearance, and while we will still have articles, they will be feature pieces that will release when they are completed and ready, as opposed to being pushed out on a theoretical deadline that would create a quality issue. So while the website is getting a bit of a facelift, so will the quality of everything we put out from here on out. Thanks for reading, now back to hockey.
Florida x Edmonton Round 2
This is the best possible matchup, and it has more layers than last year, which is why I genuinely have no idea who is going to win. On the Canadian hand, Edmonton is healthier this year, and that has been evident thus far with the production being stellar from McJesus, Draisaitl, and Nugent-Hopkins. The “big 3” Oilers are much healthier than the run they had last postseason. They are capable of distributing and playmaking at a level beyond what we have seen from them to this point in their respective careers. And that makes them that much stronger than last year’s team, even though Zach Hyman is out for the series. Evan Bouchard is also playing out of his mind, which is an improvement that hopefully forces him out of Edmonton (and into orange and black… but I digress). Lastly, Stuart Skinner has been playing at an elite level in the net, and that gives Edmonton more than they’ve ever had in the postseason.
But…
Come on, you knew there was a but coming, I alluded to it so well with the saccharin-dipped words on the Oilers.
The Florida Panthers are more complete this year than last year. The additions of Seth Jones and Brad Marchand at the trade deadline are the stuff of Tony Montana-esque fantasies are made of. The two have complemented the already gritty and offensively skilled core of Bennett, Reinhart, and Tkachuk. They are the deepest team in the playoffs, and that is where the real crux of the matchup from a prognostication standpoint lies. The Panthers’ third line is miles better than the same line on Edmonton. If said line centered by Marchand can drive play in the offensive zone and put the puck in the net, the Panthers are going to be hard to beat. It’s a really interesting chess match because you can mitigate the effectiveness of this third line by playing McDavid and Draisaitl more, but that runs the risk of them running out of gas.
I know, I made some picks this playoffs, most of them did not cash. BETTING HOCKEY IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT AND IS ONLY FOR THE TRUE DEGENS!!!
So this article is being written after the latest flagship GENY episode we recorded, but it will be published before said episode is released. On the episode, I completely waffled because I think this is a toss-up of epic proportions and will be the most watchable SCF in a decade-plus. On the recording, I settled on the Oilers, both because I would like to see them win and also because I feel that their top-end talent is good enough, and HEALTHY ENOUGH, to get them to the mountain top.
So why am I saying all this? Because what I think and what I bet are not always the same.
My preferred sportsbook of choice has the Florida Panthers at an even-money +100 to repeat as Stanley Cup Champions. That is my bet for the series. I think that Edmonton wins Game 1 tonight (currently -130) and that will drive the series price to even better odds for Florida, which means a re-pop on the better moneyline to aggregate a better number might be necessary. I am taking Connor McDavid to win the Conn Smythe Trophy at +110 and the Hart as well at +200. Regardless of whether he finally hoists the Cup, McDavid is the best player on Earth and has proven it this year in the Show and the 4 Nations.
Let’s strap in for a banger, boys and girls. Cheers.