Thrilling Stanley Cup Final Opener: Oilers Take Game 1

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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.

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