Florida Panthers fans may not be as numerous as some of the NHL’s most historic franchises, but they exist. And they’ve been waiting since the franchise began play in 1993 to win the Stanley Cup.
A little over a week ago, celebrating this franchise seemed obvious. The Panthers led the Stanley Cup Final 3-0, and we all know by now that that’s almost the end point in historical terms. And somehow, Panthers fans who were preparing to celebrate their team’s first Stanley Cup victory are now sweating during Monday night’s Game 7 against the Edmonton Oilers. Edmonton has won three games in a row, including Game 5 in Florida, to force a winner-take-all game.
Also, these bettors who had tickets on the Panthers to win it all than BetMGM wonder what happened.
There are plenty of ways to illustrate how incredible it would be if the Panthers lost the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night, but a walk through the way BetMGM’s odds have changed over the past nine days is as shocking as any other.
The Panthers were once heavy favorites
Here’s how the Panthers’ chances of winning the Stanley Cup have changed since the start of the Stanley Cup Final:
Before the first match: -130 (bet $130 to win $100)
Before match 2: -250
Before match 3: -550
Before match 4: -3000
Before match 5: -1200
Before game 6: -350
Before match 7: -110
When the Oilers and Panthers entered Game 4 on June 15, Florida led the series 3-0 and you would have had to bet $3,000 to win $100. The implied odds of a -3000 favorite winning are 96.7%, which seems low for a team leading 3-0 in a playoff series.
When the Stanley Cup odds were first released before the season, the Panthers were +1800 to win it all. At the start of the playoffs, they were +700. There wasn’t a lot of confidence in the Panthers – only 4.6% of bets were on Florida to win it all – but those holding Panthers tickets must have been feeling really good after Florida won 3- 0. And now those bets are 50/50. The Oilers and Panthers are tied at -110 odds to win Game 7 at BetMGM.
3-0 Series History Collapses
You’ll hear the story during the broadcast, and maybe a lot more after the game is over, but here’s a list of every team that has lost a series in America’s major sports leagues after taking a 3-0 lead:
NBA: Never
MLB: ALCS 2004, Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees
NHL: 1942 Stanley Cup Final, Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Detroit Red Wings
1975 Quarterfinals, New York Islanders vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
2010 Conference Semifinals, Philadelphia Flyers vs. Boston Bruins
2014 First Round, Los Angeles Kings vs. San Jose Sharks
That’s it – five times in hundreds of playoffs. According to Yahoo Sports AMteams that take a 3-0 lead in a series are 206-4 in the NHL, 157-0 in the NBA and 39-1 in MLB. It was 402-4 overall before the Panthers took a 3-0 lead. And it’s only happened once in a championship round, way back in 1942, when there were only seven NHL teams.
So, from a historical trend of 99%, the Panthers are just one draw away from winning the first Stanley Cup in franchise history. You may not know any dedicated Panthers fans, but if you do, wish them luck today. They may never get over seeing their team miss this series.