Benzinga - by Chris Katje, Benzinga Staff Writer.
"Obviously, it's not your ordinary game, everybody understands that," Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid said. "But you've got to make it as ordinary as possible in your head. Our room has done a great job of being at our best in these big moments."
The National Hockey League Stanley Cup Finals will be completed Monday night with a champion crowned and the potential end to a losing streak by teams that call Canada home.
While many Canadian fans will be cheering for the Oilers, one bettor will be rooting extra hard hoping to win over half a million dollars from a championship parlay.
What Happened: There are many types of bets that can be placed on sports contests, including betting on a winner, the spread or player props. A popular betting type that has grown over the years is parlays, which in some cases include multiple sports.
A bet placed back in January parlayed the winners of three sports contests across the National Football League, National Hockey League and soccer.
The $1,000 bet was placed with BetMGM, which is a joint venture between MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM) and Entain.
The parlay includes the following legs, which all need to be successful for the bet to cash out a winner.
- Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl winner: +650
- Real Madrid Champions League winner: +550
- Edmonton Oilers Stanley Cup winner: +1,100
The Chiefs won the Super Bowl and Real Madrid won the Champions League leaving just the Oilers to cash the bet.
The Oilers came into the NHL Playoffs at odds of +750 and one of the favorites. In the matchup against the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Finals, the Oilers quickly found themselves behind with a 3-0 hole in the best-of-seven series.
While many predicted the Oilers would lose the series and not be able to overcome the huge odds of winning four straight games, the Oilers are now one win away from being Stanley Cup champions for the first time since 1990.
Related Link: Dave Portnoy Could Win Over $1M If This NHL Team Breaks Canada’s Losing Streak
What's Next: The Oilers have forced a Game 7, becoming only the third NHL team to accomplish the feat after being down 0-3 in the Stanley Cup Finals. The 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs successfully completed the comeback being down 0-3 and winning the Stanley Cup.
Only a handful of teams have forced a Game 7 in the major North American sports leagues championships, with a minimal amount ever winning.
"Obviously, it's not your ordinary game, everybody understands that," Oilers captain Connor McDavid said. "But you've got to make it as ordinary as possible in your head. Our room has done a great job of being at our best in these big moments."
McDavid said the Oilers have "won three big games to get ourselves back in the series."
"It comes down to one game here and we'll be ready. It's a great opportunity."
McDavid has 11 points in the Stanley Cup Finals, two short of the NHL record set by Wayne Gretzky in 1988 (13 points).
Game 7 will air at 8 p.m. ET Monday June 24 on ABC and stream on ESPN+, which are both units of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS).
Disney has benefitted from the series seeing a comeback and fans tuning in. Viewership for Game 6 averaged 4.2 million, which was up 54% year-over-year from last year's Game 5 championship deciding game.
Overall viewership for the Stanley Cup Finals are averaging 3.6 million viewers, which is up 36% year-over-year. Disney's coverage of the NHL Playoffs is averaging 1.7 million viewers through 47 games, which is up 48% year-over-year.
Betting odds from sportsbook DraftKings Inc (NASDAQ:DKNG) show a tight matchup for Game 7 with the Panthers slight favorites at -112 and the Oilers close behind at -108.
The Oilers winning the Stanley Cup would mark the first time a Canadian team has won since 1993 (Montreal Canadiens), ending a long drought for the country that calls ice hockey its national sport.
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