Odds Kyle Okposo, Sam Reinhart Win Stanley Cup

The Florida Panthers continue their Stanley Cup pursuit Wednesday night, with former Sabres Kyle Okposo, Sam Reinhart, Brandon Montour, Evan Rodrigues, and Dmitry Kulikov on the roster. The Panthers lost in the Stanley Cup Final last season to the Vegas Golden Knights and are looking for redemption.

The Buffalo Sabres, meanwhile, have implications on the Panthers’ run. The seventh-round draft pick acquired in the Okposo trade becomes a fifth in 2024 if Florida wins the Stanley Cup.

The Panthers defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning four games to one in Round One. Round Two saw Florida defeat the Boston Bruins four games to two. So what are the odds that the Panthers can take down the top-seeded New York Rangers?

And, what are the chances they award former Sabres captain Okposo his first Stanley Cup?

Let’s dig in.

Conference Finals

The Panthers have looked strong throughout the playoffs, beating two experienced contenders convincingly. In the Eastern Conference Finals, they’re running into the one team that’s arguably looked better than them – the New York Rangers.

The Rangers swept the Washington Capitals in Round One and beat a loaded Carolina Hurricanes team four games to two in Round Two.

As a result, the Rangers have home-ice advantage and better odds of winning the series. PuckLuck.com gives the Rangers a 50.75% chance of winning the series, putting the Panthers at 49.25% odds. That translates to -103 for the Rangers and +103 for the Panthers in sportsbook odds.

DraftKings Sportsbook disagrees, favoring the Panthers to win the series at -150. Given the vig, the Rangers are listed at +130.

A big matchup component will be if the Panthers can shut down the red-hot Rangers powerplay. Relying on the powerplay isn’t usually a sustained method of success, so dominating even-strength play can carry the Panthers to victory.

Stanley Cup Final

Should the Panthers advance, they will meet the Dallas Stars or Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final. The Oilers have the star power, but the Stars are loaded at forward top-to-bottom.

PuckLuck has the Stars slightly favored to win the Western Conference Finals, with a 50.03% chance. That’s essentially a coin flip.

DraftKings Sportsbook lists the Stars at -125 and the Oilers at +105 to win the series.

Taking it further, the odds are out on DraftKings for a potential Panthers-Stars and Panthers-Oilers matchup. The Panthers are slight favorites should they face the Stars at -115. Dallas is listed at -105. They also have Florida favored over Edmonton at -135. Edmonton is +115.

PuckLuck has the series much closer, leaving little to the betting edge.

According to PuckLuck, Florida has about a 50.6% chance of beating either the Stars or the Oilers in a Stanley Cup Final matchup, which converts to about -102 odds.

So what are the odds the Panthers, loaded with former Sabres, win the Stanley Cup?

PuckLuck puts the chances at 24.9%. DraftKings has it at +215 or 31.75%.

So, in the 25% to 32% range, trading Kyle Okposo to help the Florida Panthers win the Stanley Cup will have earned the Buffalo Sabres a fifth-round draft pick.

For continuing coverage of the Florida Panthers throughout the playoffs, head over to Florida Hockey Now.