Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00And of course, that is TV Tom Vecchio of Sports Grid here to break down the start of the Stanley Cup Final last night in Edmonton.
00:08And what a thrilling opening game it was, Vecchio, to the Cup Final rematch between Edmonton and Florida.
00:14The Oilers down 3-1 early in the second period, stormed back in regulation to force overtime.
00:21And the guy that scored the opening goal of the Cup Final is the guy to score the final goal of game number one in overtime.
00:30Just over a half-minute remaining in that OT session, Leon Dreisaitl wins it for Edmonton.
00:374-3, the OT victory for the Oilers.
00:40Unlike last year, they do not start in an 0-1 hole or even trailing by three games.
00:46They take a 1-0 series advantage on home ice.
00:50Vecchio, what was your overall biggest takeaway from a thrilling game one of the Stanley Cup Final?
00:56You know, I was thinking about this question this morning, like, what was my takeaway?
01:01And I think it comes down to you have to tell yourself a story.
01:04And what I mean by that is, like, you can say, okay, the Oilers look terrible.
01:08They start off strong.
01:09They give up these goals.
01:10But then you also could say the Oilers look great storming back after they gave up that, you know, gave up the lead.
01:15And they come back in regulation.
01:17And then they end up winning the game in overtime.
01:18So what I want to say ultimately is there's good and bad things to take for both teams.
01:23The Panthers looked great.
01:24And then they looked terrible.
01:25And the Oilers looked terrible.
01:26Then they looked great.
01:27And, again, I've talked about the Oilers learning their lessons over this postseason compared to where they were last year.
01:33And, again, Stuart Skinner didn't play amazing.
01:35Absolutely wasn't the case.
01:36But too many penalties overall is what I'd like to see them clean up.
01:39They did look really good on the penalty kill overall.
01:42But they have to have a higher level of consistency.
01:45They can't start off looking terrible or great that look terrible and vice versa.
01:49So a higher level of even consistency will put the Oilers in the spot to win.
01:53And I did talk about on Monday the Oilers to win the series 4-2 or 4-3.
01:57And we're off to a pretty good start.
01:59Yes, you certainly are, Vecchio.
02:01With how this series has started, we have talked about the similarities between these two clubs facing off for a Stanley Cup once again.
02:09And the differences.
02:10Edmonton had a home ice advantage.
02:12The Oilers start with a win unlike last year when they were planked down in Sunrise.
02:17But, Vecchio, we still expect this series to be tight.
02:20The Oilers were a home ice favorite for Game 1 around a minus-125 series outright favorite to hoist the Cup entering Game 1.
02:28But after that victory, now minus-225.
02:31The shortest in terms of the duration of this series was seven games entering.
02:37It is still seven games at plus-185.
02:39Did last night's result alter the way that you will view this series back and forth, game-between game, or ultimately how long it plays out?
02:49Not at all.
02:50I think we're going to see the Panthers bounce back.
02:53The one take I would have, you know, showing those odds of the Panthers at plus-184 to win the series.
02:57Ultimately, that's the play to make.
02:58I wouldn't play them on the money line in Game 2.
03:01You just bet them on the series because they're, what, plus-105?
03:04Or I don't know the odds for Game 2 off the top of my head.
03:06But it's pretty even.
03:07But you just play them at plus-184 for the series price, and you'll have a much better spot.
03:11Again, you can buy back in on the Oilers and going into Game 3, whatever it might be.
03:15But this series is going a minimum of six games.
03:17Plus-105 is that money line underdog price for the Panthers for tomorrow night's Game 2 up in Edmonton.
03:25Total still remains at six and a half.
03:28Vecchio, do you have any issue with the updated Conn Smythe Trophy Award odds?
03:32Connor McDavid had two assists last night, including on the game-winner in OT.
03:37But it was Leon Dreisaitl, the guy scoring two goals, including that game-winner.
03:42Along with playoff Bob, he is tied for that second-best price.
03:46But McDavid, now even a stronger favorite in minus money to win his second consecutive Conn Smythe Award.
03:53How do you view the Conn Smythe odds after game number one?
03:58This is where they should be.
03:59We have to remember that this is a little bit different compared to the NBA Finals MVP,
04:03where the Conn Smythe, they actually encapsulate the entire playoffs,
04:07which is why McDavid won it last year, because he was just unbelievable throughout the playoffs.
04:10So Dreisaitl, in order to overcome the odds and overcome what McDavid has done,
04:16he would literally need to have multiple game-winning goals, multiple goals in every single game.
04:19They win the series 4-2, and like three of the four games are solely because he wins.
04:24They win the series, McDavid will be winning the Conn Smythe.
04:27And listen, there is the performance, there is the stats, but more than anything, there is also the narrative.
04:33If Conn McDavid, in his decade in the National Hockey League, can bring a Stanley Cup back to his homeland of Canada
04:40for the first time in more than three decades, that's going to help his case, no doubt about it.
04:46Becchio, we had something there quickly, just want to make sure we show it to all the people.
04:50For game two tomorrow night, Stuart Skinner, the netminder for Edmonton, over 24 and a half saves.
04:57Make sure you lock that in from TV Tom right here, right now.
05:01Becchio, a thank you as always.
05:03That does it for this Thursday on the Early Line.
05:06Show returns tomorrow, 8 a.m. Eastern, here on Sportsman.
05:09We'll see you next time.