Top Shelf Picks: Best NHL Bets and Props Today (Bet Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to Score in Game 5)

Iain MacMillan | Jun 14, 2025

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is a great bet to score in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. / Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

The Stanley Cup Final is set to head back to Edmonton for Game 5 with the series all tied up at 2-2.

The series has been back-and-forth throughout, and the Oilers pulled off a dramatic comeback in Game 4 to even things up and give their hopes of revenge life. Now, they've reclaimed home-ice advantage and can take a 3-2 series lead with a win on Saturday night.

Let's dive into my plays for Game 5.

Top NHL Picks Today

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

• Oilers (-125) vs. Panthers
• OVER 6.5 (+102)
• Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Anytime Goal (+310)

Panthers vs. Oilers Predictions for Game 5

The wild card for the Oilers continues to be their goaltending. No matter who plays between the pipes for them in Game 5, both an extremely strong start and an extremely poor start are possible. With that in mind, I have to lean on the underlying metrics for how these two teams are playing overall, and the Oilers have had the advantage.

The Oilers have an expected goal differential in this series of +0.31 per 60 minutes over play, and they're also creating 1.61 more high-danger scoring chances per 60 minutes.

If their goalie can finally bring an "A+" performance, I wouldn't be surprised if Game 5 ends in a blowout in favor of the Oilers on their home ice.

Pick: Oilers -125

How could you not go back to the well and bet the OVER again in Game 5? It has hit in all four games in this series, and it's not by fluke. Both teams are playing an aggressive style of hockey, which opens the game up for scoring chances on both ends of the ice. You can find proof of that by looking at the high-danger scoring chances in this series. The two teams have combined for 27.71 per 60 minutes of play.

To put that into context, the two teams that led the NHL in the regular season in high-danger scoring chances combined for just 25.41 high-danger scoring chances per 60 minutes, more than two fewer than the Panthers and Oilers have combined for in the first four games of the Stanley Cup Final.

Let's once again sit back and root for goals.

Pick: OVER 6.5 (+102)

Panthers vs. Oilers Prop Bet for Game 5

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins finally found his name on the scoresheet this series when he notched both a goal and an assist in Game 4. Despite struggling to find the back of the net through the first three games, I still think his odds to score in Game 5 are mispriced. He's second on the Oilers in expected goals in these playoffs at 8.6, which is 2.2 more expected goals than Leon Draisaitl.

With that being said, Draisaitl clearly has a nose for finding the back of the net as he's proven throughout his career, but Nugent-Hopkins is still getting plenty of scoring opportunities in this series, and the price is right for me to bet him to score for the second straight game on Saturday night.

Pick: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Anytime Goal (+310)

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