Top Shelf Picks: Best NHL Bets and Props (Panthers Will Close Out Series in Game 6)

Iain MacMillan | Jun 17, 2025

The Panthers are favorites to close out the Stanley Cup Final against the Oilers in Game 6. / Sergei Belski-Imagn Images

The Stanley Cup Final could be handed out on Tuesday night if the Florida Panthers get the win on their home ice against the Edmonton Oilers.

It's been a hard-fought series, but the Panthers won Game 5 in dominant fashion and now take a 3-2 series lead back to Florida. The Oilers' goaltending issues have proven to be a real problem for them as they try to get their revenge from last year's Stanley Cup loss, but now they need to get a win on the road to force a Game 7 back in Edmonton.

Let's take a look at my prediction and favorite prop bet for Game 6.

NHL Best Bets Today for Game 6

• Panthers (-146) vs. Oilers via FanDuel
• Carter Verhaeghe Anytime Goal (+240) via DraftKings

Oilers vs. Panthers Game 6 Prediction

I could sit here and write about how close this series has been from an advanced metrics perspective and how the Oilers have an edge in things like expected goals and high-danger scoring chances created, but all of those statistics can be thrown out the window when a team can't get a goaltender to stop a puck.

Stuart Skinner caught fire for the Oilers in the second and third rounds of the playoffs, but hasn't shown up in the Stanley Cup Final. Edmonton looked to Calvin Pickard to try to provide a much-needed spark for them in Game 5, but that plan didn't work either. Now, they're stuck between two goalies with little trust in either. As a whole, the Oilers have stopped just 85.98% of shots on goal in this series.

A save percentage like that simply isn't going to get the job done against the defending champs, a team with virtually no weakness. Goaltending is going to cost the Oilers a Stanley Cup once again, and I'm willing to bet the series ends in Sunrise on Tuesday night.

Pick: Panthers (-146) vs. Oilers via FanDuel

Oilers vs. Panthers Game 6 Prop Bet

Carter Verhaeghe has just seven goals in the playoffs, but he's been creating more chances than you'd think, sporting an expected goals of 9.2, the same mark as Connor McDavid and second overall in the postseason behind only Sam Bennett. Now, with his odds set at +240, he's in a great buy-low spot in a potential Cup-clinching Game 6.

Pick: Carter Verhaeghe Anytime Goal (+240) via DraftKings

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