Check out our Stanley Cup Finals Game 4 best bets from our hockey experts for the Vegas Golden Knights vs Florida Panthers on Saturday, June 10.
The NHL championship series continues tonight (8 p.m. ET, TNT) with Vegas holding a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Florida avoided disaster and got back in the fight with a win on Thursday.
The home team now looks to even the series with tonight's game at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida.
Below, check out our hockey crew's top picks.
60-Minute Tie (+360)
Nicholas Martin: Game 4 sets up as a spot for another closely contested matchup in which neither team is able to create much separation on the scoreboard. Anytime that is the case, betting on overtime becomes a worthy look, and that is definitely true at a price of +360.
Vegas continues to insulate Adin Hill with strong defensive play. At even strength, the Golden Knights' game has remained sharp, but on top of that, they are also shutting down the Panthers' power play thus far. It is unlikely the Knights give up their series lead easily in this spot, and if anything, I am more worried about them creating a gap in this game.
The Panthers Game 3 win came in familiar fashion as Sergei Bobrovsky came up with some all-world saves to keep it close before a couple of timely goals. It is hard for me to see Florida winning big tonight, but they could certainly hang around behind some elite goaltending.
The avenues are there for this to be a closely contested game throughout. Betting on overtime is always a fun look, and I believe it is a great angle tonight at +360.
Pick: 60-Minute Tie (+360) |
Golden Knights vs. Panthers Under 6 (-120)
Ryan Dadoun: After dropping the first two contests, the Florida Panthers stepped up in Game 3 to keep the Stanley Cup Final competitive. A big part of their 3-2 overtime victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday was thanks to Sergei Bobrovsky shaking off his rough start by stopping 25 of 27 shots.
Although the Golden Knights had success against Bobrovsky in Vegas, the 34-year-old goaltender has still been outstanding overall in the 2023 playoffs with a 12-4 record, 2.46 GAA and .925 save percentage in 17 outings.
If Bobrovsky has found his rhythm again, as appears to be the case, then Vegas will have a tough time getting much by him.
Adin Hill is expected to man the other net and, like Bobrovsky, he’s been superb in the postseason with a 2.12 GAA and .934 save percentage in 14 contests. That success has continued into the Stanley Cup Final with Hill surrendering just seven goals over the first three games.
This has the makings of a tight, low-scoring contest not unlike what we saw Thursday.
The Pick: Under 6 (-120 at BetMGM)
Jonathan Marchessault Anytime Goalscorer (+180)
Tony Sartori: I am running out of creative intros to say that we are going to take the same prop for the fourth straight game, so here it is: Jonathan Marchessault anytime goalscorer at +180 via FanDuel. After cashing on this prop at +195 in Game 1, at +185 in Game 2, and then once again at +190 in Game 3, we are going back to the well once again on the Vegas forward in Game 4.
Following a quiet opening series against the Winnipeg Jets, Marchessault has exploded offensively. After he buried 13 goals over the past 13 games, we are going to back Marchessault to keep the hot hand going in Game 4.
This postseason, he leads the Knights in expected goals per 60 minutes (xGF/60) at five-on-five. The Barbeshev-Eichel-Marchessault line has been – by far – the most dominating line for Vegas during the playoffs, with all due respect to the fourth line (Carrier-Roy-Kolesar) that has played extremely well in its own right.
That aforementioned first line has generated an xGoals% of 56.2% this postseason, producing an excellent 3.27 xGF/60.
The biggest concern in backing Marchessault to score is Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who put together a tremendous string of performances in these Stanley Cup Playoffs. However, he’s finally come back down to earth in this series, allowing 10 goals on 73 shots for a fade-worthy .863 SV% through the first three games.
This decrease in production should not be all that surprising, given that he is dealing with a below-average blue line in front of him, and both his surface-level stats and underlying metrics prior to the Cup Final were unsustainable. While Bobrovsky could utilize a strong performance in Game 3 to bounce back once again in Game 4, +180 is too good a price to pass up on Marchessault to score once again.
Pick: Jonathan Marchessault Anytime Goalscorer (+180) |
Marc Staal & Alec Martinez Both Over 2.5 Blocked Shots (+680)
Greg Liodice: When this series is all said and done, I wouldn’t be surprised if half these players are covered in black and blue. It’s a very physical series, but it’s also a very block-heavy series. While the Vegas Golden Knights have played the most games in the playoffs, they also have the leaders in blocked shots. Brayden McNabb, Alex Pietrangelo and Alec Martinez stand atop the leaderboard.
Martinez, especially, has made a career out of getting in front of shots. At the age of 35, he ate the most rubber he ever has in his 14-year career, averaging 3.1 blocks in the regular season, and 2.4 these playoffs. What’s fascinating is that he didn’t register a block all game on Thursday, which is unlike him.
Marc Staal for the Florida Panthers, on the other hand, took on a ton of rubber. He blocked four shots, which is a playoff high for the 16-year vet. Staal, for the most part, isn’t known for blocking, and he’s averaging 1.3 per game these playoffs.
FanDuel’s Player Performance Parlays are always a shot in the dark. However, when I saw that they had both Staal and Martinez over 2.5 blocked shots at +680, my ears perked up. Martinez will most likely get over, but Staal is the wild card. After a big night of blocking, it’s certainly a risk to bank on it again. I just think it’s an interesting chance to take with an amazing potential payout, which is why I’m picking it. Let’s see what transpires.
Pick: Marc Staal & Alec Martinez both over 2.5 blocked shots (+680) |
