The Vegas Golden Knights held serve at home in the Stanley Cup Final in the first two games, and the series heads to south Florida for Game 3 on Thursday night with the Florida Panthers hoping to make it a competitive series.

Nitrobetting is here to turn your betting slapshots into winning goals with betting tips and news coverage throughout the 2023 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. This time, let’s break down the upcoming Game 3 Stanley Cup Final showdown between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Florida Panthers.

Golden Knights vs. Panthers Game 3 2023 Stanley Cup Final Information

• When: Thursday, June 8, 2023, 8:00 PM ET
• Where: FLA Live Arena, Sunrise, FL
• TV: TNT, TBS, truTV, CBC, SN, TVAS
• Radio: KKGK 98.9 FM (Golden Knights) // 99.9 The Fan (Panthers)
• Live Stream: NHL Network
• NHL Betting Odds: Golden Knights (-1.5) // Panthers (+1.5)

Why Bet on the Vegas Golden Knights?

After taking Game 1 by a misleading score of 5-2, the Knights were utterly dominant in Game 2 with a 7-2 victory on Monday. Jonathan Marchessault contributed two goals and an assist to stay red hot. Marchessault tallied the opening goal on the power play midway through the first period and then provided the secondary helper on Alec Martinez’s goal late in the frame. His second marker came early in the third period to extend Vegas’ edge to 5-1. Marchessault is a Conn Smythe Trophy candidate with 12 goals and 21 points in 19 outings. The 31-year-old has seven goals and 11 points over his current seven-game scoring streak.

Brett Howden also had two goals. He had just a goal and two points over his previous 12 contests. Howden’s first marker, which came midway through the second period, extended Vegas’ lead to 4-0 and prompted Florida to pull Sergei Bobrovsky in favor of Alex Lyon. Howden then beat Lyon late in the third frame on the power play to round out the victory. The 25-year-old forward is up to five goals and nine points in 19 playoff contests this year.

The seven goals were a Vegas franchise playoff record. The Knights are the first team in 15 years to score five or more goals in each of the first two contests of the Final, following the 2006 Hurricanes who eventually lifted the Cup in a series that required seven games. This marks the second time that Vegas has scored five or more goals in three straight contests within a postseason, following an equal run from Game 2 to Game 4 of the 2019 First Round against San Jose.

Jack Eichel had two assists and became the seventh player in the NHL’s modern era (since 1943-44) to record multiple points in each of his first two career contests in the Stanley Cup Final. Michael Amadio (1-1—2) and William Carrier (0-2—2) each assisted on Vegas’ seventh and final goal of Game 2 as the Golden Knights became the 16th team to have six or more players register multiple points in the same Stanley Cup Final contest.

After suffering back-to-back defeats in Games 4 and 5 of the Western Conference Final to Dallas, the Golden Knights have surged back to claim three straight victories, netting five or more goals in each and outscoring opponents 18-4. Coach Bruce Cassidy’s team now has nine different goal scorers through the first two games of the Final, the most ever by one team through two contests of the championship series. Overall, the 2023 Stanley Cup Final marks the highest-scoring championship series through two games since 1982.

Adin Hill stopped 29 of 31 shots in Game 2. He has been one of the best surprises of the 2023 playoffs, posting a 9-3 record, 2.06 GAA and .937 save percentage in 13 contests. Before this year, the 27-year-old hadn’t logged a single NHL postseason game.

Why Bet on the Florida Panthers?

Game 2 was the second consecutive game in which Florida’s Bobrovsky, a two-time Vezina Trophy recipient, allowed four goals with the biggest difference in Game 1 being the Golden Knights needed 33 shots throughout an entire 60-minute session to reach that mark. It’s the fourth time this postseason an opponent has found a way to score more than four goals against Bobrovsky. The Boston Bruins did it twice in the first round.

Florida plans to stick with Bobrovsky in Game 3, although he might have a short leash. Lyon wasn’t much better in relief of Game 2.

“He’s been our best player all playoffs,” Panthers forward Sam Bennett said of Bobrovsky, who had been the Conn Smythe favorite entering the series. “We have total belief in him. We have to do a better job helping him out and not give up so many grade-A chances on him. But yeah, there’s no issue there. We have the utmost confidence in him.”

It’s been a penalty-filled series through two games. The Panthers have a total of 130 penalty minutes and the Golden Knights have 72. Already facing an uphill climb, Florida defenseman Radko Gudas left Game 2 injured and is day-to-day. Gudas logged just 2:11 of ice time before leaving the game. He’s racked up 29 hits with 16 PIM and no points over his last six.

Golden Knights vs. Panthers Betting Trends

• Golden Knights are 6-1 in their last 7 games following a win.
• Golden Knights are 7-2 in their last 9 road games.
• The total went over in 4 of Vegas’ last 5 games.
• Panthers are 4-1 in their last 5 Thursday games.
• Panthers are 15-7 in their last 22 after allowing 5 goals or more in their previous game.
• The total went under in 8 of Florida’s last 11 games.

Golden Knights vs. Panthers 2023 Stanley Cup Final Game 3 Expert Betting Predictions

Panthers 4, Knights 2.

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READ MORE: Panthers vs. Golden Knights 2023 Stanley Cup Final Game 5 Odds and Preview – June 13th