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Oilers at Panthers Stanley Cup Final Game 1 odds, expert picks: Florida opens as favorite

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Oilers at Panthers Stanley Cup Final Game 1 odds, expert picks: Florida opens as favorite


After a week-long wait, the 2024 Stanley Cup Final has finally arrived. It all begins on Saturday night (8 p.m ET, ABC) as the Florida Panthers host the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of the series.

For the Panthers, this is relatively familiar territory. They were just here a year ago, eventually losing to the Vegas Golden Knights.

For this Oilers core, this is uncharted territory. They try to not only end Canada’s Stanley Cup drought (going back to Montreal in 1993) but help land Connor McDavid the only thing his resume is missing: a Stanley Cup.

That is going to be the dominant storyline for most of the series, especially at the start. And if the Oilers are actually able to pull this off, it seems like it’s going to have to be on the backs of their top three players (McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard). They have been the driving force behind almost all of this run, as at least one of them has been on the ice for 55 of the Oilers’ 63 goals this postseason. At least two of them have been on the ice for 45 of the goals.

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McDavid alone has been on the ice for 42 of them and had a direct hand in 31 of them (five goals, 26 assists).

It’s rare that such a top-heavy team reaches this point, but it is a testament to how dominant the Oilers’ top players are and have been in this year’s playoffs. If McDavid gets his Cup carrying this much of the weight offensively, it will only add to his legend.

Odds are from BetMGM and update live. Buy tickets to see your favorite team on StubHub.

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Edmonton Oilers at Florida Panthers  — Game 1

How to watch: 8 p.m. ET on ABC, SN

Series odds: Panthers -130, Oilers +110

  • The Oilers might legitimately be having the best special teams postseason performance in NHL history. Their 37.3 percent power play success rate is the second-best all-time for teams with at least 15 games in a single postseason, while their 93.9 percent penalty killing success rate is the best all-time for teams with at least 15 games in a single postseason.
  • Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard is just 10 points behind Paul Coffey for the most points in a single postseason for a defender. Coffey had 37 points in 1984-85, while Bouchard enters this series with 27 points.
  • Florida Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe has become one of the best big-game players in the playoffs in the past few years. Since the start of the 2021-22 playoffs, his nine postseason game-winning goals are the most in the NHL during that time. No other player in the league during that stretch has more than six game-winning goals.
  • McDavid is going to get a big challenge in this series going against Aleksander Barkov. In the first three rounds, Nikita Kucherov, David Pastrnak and Artemi Panarin played 85 minutes of even-strength hockey against Barkov’s line and combined to score exactly one goal between the three of them in those minutes.
  • Neither starting goalie — Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky or Edmonton’s Stuart Skinner — has been especially dominant at any point in this postseason. Bobrovsky’s .908 save percentage is fourth out of nine goalies with at least six appearances this postseason, while Skinner’s .897 is seventh out of that group. Given the strength of both offenses, this has the potential to be a high-scoring series.

Expert picks for Oilers at Panthers


Picks standings

(Photo of Connor McDavid and Stuart Skinner: Codie McLachlan / Getty Images)

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Tallahassee gas prices rise due to Iran war; how to find cheapest pump prices

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Tallahassee gas prices rise due to Iran war; how to find cheapest pump prices


If you’re kicking yourself for not filling up your vehicle over the weekend or earlier this week, you have good reason.

Gas prices have been going up steadily — sometimes sharply — since the U.S.-Israeli strikes in Iran started Saturday, Feb. 28.

In Tallahassee, prices have jumped 26 cents from last week with an average gallon of gas currently sitting at $3.08, according to AAA. The highest price on record in Florida’s capital city was $4.84 a gallon in June 2022.

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Since Monday, March 2, Florida gas prices have jumped almost 36 cents for a gallon of regular, according to AAA.

The war is spreading throughout the Middle East and at least six U.S. soldiers have been killed, including one from Florida.

Live updates: Senate won’t check Trump’s war

Here’s what you should know as the war with Iran continues.

Florida not alone in worrying about rising gas prices

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Gas prices surge as Iran war closes Strait of Hormuz

Gas prices rise as Iran closes the Strait of Hormuz threatening oil supply and raising fears of global economic fallout.

Gas prices were already rising before the attacks on Iran began Feb. 28. It’s a regular seasonal swing as spring arrives, according to AAA. 

➤ Americans fret over gas prices as Iran war widens

Iran has retaliated with missile and drone attacks that have now killed at least six U.S. servicemembers, including one from Florida.

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➤ Florida Army Reserve captain killed in Iran war

Analysts said the war will likely drive up prices by an additional 20 to 30 cents per gallon, partly due to supply issues and partly due to global uncertainty.

Here’s a look at gas prices per gallon of regular provided by AAA this week:

  • March 5: $3.251
  • March 4: $3.19
  • March 3: $3.061

Compare to:

  • Week ago: $2.983
  • Month ago: $2.891
  • Year ago: $3.107

What’s average price of gas in Florida?

AAA posted the average price in Florida on March 5 was $3.241, slightly less than the national average of $3.251.

Here’s a comparison of the daily average price of a gallon of regular this week as provided by AAA:

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  • March 5: $3.241
  • March 4: $3.198
  • March 3: $3.068
  • March 2: $2.883

In comparison:

  • Week ago average: $2.940
  • Month ago average: $2.882
  • Year ago average: $3.084

Will Florida gas prices keep going up?

The national average price of gas is “likely to move toward $3.10 to $3.15 (per gallon) within one to two weeks … and to $3.20 to $3.25 within two to three weeks,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis with GasBuddy, on March 1.

On March 2, DeHaan said he expected gas prices “at average stations” nationally to increase by 10 to 30 cents in the coming week.

President Trump: Oil prices may be high ‘for a little while’

President Donald Trump told reporters March 3 oil prices may be high “for a little while.”

As soon as the war ends, “these prices are going to drop, I believe even lower than before,” Trump said. 

In a post on TruthSocial March 3, Trump said: “If necessary, the United States Navy will begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, as soon as possible. No matter what, the United States will ensure the FREE FLOW of ENERGY to the WORLD.”

How can you find the cheapest gas?

Whether you’re traveling or at home, gasbuddy.com offers information to find the cheapest prices for gasoline.

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Enter your state, city or ZIP code to find the Top 10 gas stations and cheap fuel prices.

Cheryl McCloud is a journalist for the USA TODAY Network-Florida’s service journalism Connect team. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at https://palmbeachpost.com/newsletters.



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Florida college Republicans group chat reveals racist texts: ‘Avoid the coloreds like the plague’

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Florida college Republicans group chat reveals racist texts: ‘Avoid the coloreds like the plague’


It only took three weeks for a group chat for conservative students at Florida International University (FIU) to become a place where participants eagerly used racist slurs, prompting widespread condemnation from community leaders.

Abel Alexander Carvajal, secretary of Miami-Dade county’s Republican party and a student at FIU’s College of Law, reportedly started the chat after the killing of Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, in September 2025.

But on Wednesday, the Miami Herald published leaked WhatsApp conversations in which the college Republicans made racist, sexist, antisemitic and homophobic comments, including variations of the N-word used more than 400 times. Knowledge of the chat’s existence was revealed on the same day that Republican lawmakers in Florida pushed forward a bill to rename a one-mile stretch of road alongside FIU in honor of Kirk.

William Bejerano, who the Herald noted once tried to start an anti-abortion group at Miami Dade College, was the most prolific user of the N-word. Using the slur, Bejerano called for dozens of acts of extreme violence against Black people, including crucifying, beheading and dissecting.

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Dariel Gonzalez, then the College Republicans’ recruitment chair, who has recently applied to become a GOP committee member, responded to the calls for violence by saying: “How edgy.” He repeatedly used “colored” to describe Black people, including writing: “Ew you had colored professors?!” and “Avoid the coloreds like the plague,” according to the Herald.

Carvajal, who was appointed to a two-year role on the city of Hialeah’s planning and zoning board earlier this year, confirmed to the paper that the group chat was his doing, but he denied knowledge of the problematic comments until the publication contacted him about its logs last week.

“It’s been five months since this was sent and this is the first time I’ve seen this message,” Carvajal told the Herald.

“I guess to an extent, I bear some responsibility, cause I created a chat. But if I had seen this at the moment, I would have removed [Bejerano] from the chat. I probably would have even blocked his number.”

The Herald found that Carvajal had deleted 14 messages sent by other participants in the chat and 42 of his own messages before the publication obtained the chat’s logs.

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He also participated in some of the racist discussions. While referring to a Black student who allegedly left FIU’s College Republicans after a member of the group “called her a [N-word]”, the Floridian reported that Carvajal wrote: “Why didn’t miggress leave?” Elsewhere in the chat, the publication reported that Carvajal used “Miggress”, “Migglet” and “Migger” to refer to Black women, Black children and Black people, in general.

At one point, Gonzalez wrote: “You can fuck all the [K-word, a slur for Jewish people] you want. Just don’t marry them and procreate.”

Ian Valdes, the Turning Point USA FIU chapter president, responded, “I would def not marry a Jew,” before changing the group chat’s name from “Uber [R-word slur for disabled people] Yapping” to “Gooning in Agartha”. “Gooning” is a gen-Z slang term for male masturbation, while “Agartha” is a mythical white civilization promoted by Heinrich Himmler, one of the most powerful leaders in Nazi Germany next to Hitler.

Gonzalez reportedly described Agartha to the group chat as “Nazi heaven sort of”.

Kevin Cooper, the first Jewish chair of the Miami Dade Republican party, condemned the group chat in a statement published to X and called for Carvajal’s resignation.

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“The majority of our board voted to request Carvajal’s resignation. We have commenced removal proceedings and look forward to resolution from the Republican Party of Florida,” he wrote.

That call was echoed by Juan Porras, a Republican state representative and Miami-Dade GOP state committee member, who said in a statement: “Leadership carries responsibility. When someone in a leadership role engages in this kind of behavior, it damages the trust placed in our party by voters across Florida. For that reason, I am asking the Miami Dade Republican party secretary to step down from this position.”

In a joint statement, Florida Republican state senators Alexis Calatayud, Ileana Garcia and Ana Maria Rodriguez denounced the chats and called for the expulsion from party leadership of its participants.

“The individuals in the group chat have exposed how profoundly misaligned their beliefs are to the views of the Republican party of Florida,” their statement said. “We call for the immediate expulsion of the individuals disseminating from any level of leadership of the Miami-Dade Republican Party … We will not tolerate bigotry or discrimination.”

Multiple leaked group chats from young Republicans have created controversy in recent years.

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Last year, Politico published messages from a group chat of more than 100 conservatives across the country in which users also made racist and antisemitic comments. In 2022, a Young Republican group chat from North Dakota was revealed as a cesspool of homophobic and antisemitic rhetoric.



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Federal judge blocks DeSantis executive order declaring CAIR a 'terrorist organization'

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Federal judge blocks DeSantis executive order declaring CAIR a 'terrorist organization'


A federal court in Tallahassee has issued a temporary injunction blocking Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ executive order designating the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) a “terrorist organization.” U.S. District Judge Mark Walker’s order comes nearly three months after DeSantis signed his executive order on Dec. 8. The order directed Florida’s executive and Cabinet agencies, as […]



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