Game 3 was yet another close game, and another one in which the Hurricanes did almost everything they had to to win…except score more than the Panthers. In fact, they didn’t score at all as Florida won 1-0 to claim a commanding 3-0 series lead.

Because the individual contests have been so close, the NHL odds still don’t massively favour one club over the over. The Panthers only sit at -116 to close out the series in Game 4.

Hurricanes vs. Panthers NHL Playoffs Betting Odds

In our Game 2 preview we referenced that the Hurricanes franchise had not won a conference final contest since 2006, the same year they won the Stanley Cup. Here we are two games later and that’s still the case.

This would have sounded incredible just a few weeks ago when Boston led the first round series 3-1 against the Panthers, but the Floridians are the favourites to win it all at the time of writing. The NHL Futures peg them at +124.

Should Paul Maurice’s club earn victory on Wednesday night, the franchise will reach its first finals appearance since 1996 when they were swept by the first-year Colorado Avalanche – aided by carried over Quebec Nordiques talent and Patrick Roy. The under has cashed in on eight consecutive Florida Panthers playoff games.

Carolina Hurricanes

If anything, the Canes aren’t going down without a fight. They’ve played well thrice but have lost each time. Sometimes fate simply doesn’t smile on a given squad, and unfortunately for them, Carolina appears to be the latest victim.

Game 3 saw the Hurricanes come out guns blazing, racing out with a flurry of good scoring opportunities – almost literally with a couple breakaways and partial breakaways. But time and time again they could not outduel Sergei Bobrovsky. The frustration was visible after the game with Jesperi Kotkaniemi smashing his stick to bits whilst heading back to the dressing room. Carolina shot 32 times to Florida’s 17 attempts. Through three tilts, the Canes have fired 135 times in the direction of the Florida keeper and they have three goals to show for their efforts.

Sebastian Aho and defencemen Brett Pesce and Jaccob Slavin combined had almost half of the team’s shots with 15 all (five by each player).

Florida Panthers

And the beat goes on. Another game in which the Panthers had fewer attempts on goal but played just well enough defensively to whether the Carolina storm – 23 blocked shots was impressive. And then there’s Bobrovsky, whose name was chanted so loudly by the fans after the final horn that the arena’s announcer couldn’t be heard. It was his first career playoff shutout

This 2023 Florida Panthers squad is looking a lot like the 2019 St. Louis Blues. Few expected much out of them when the playoffs started, but the grittier, tighter, more intense atmosphere appears to suit them. This year’s iteration has nothing to do with last year’s super-scoring club. They also take advantage of whatever opportunities come their way. Just as the Game 2 winning goal was on the powerplay, so was Game 3’s. In the second period, Sam Reinhart received a pass in the slot with his back to the net, quickly spun around and fired the puck to beat Frederik Andersen.

Some worrisome news was that captain Aleksander Barkov left the game in the first period after taking a hit against the boards. The nature of his injuries are unknown as of this writing, as is his status for Game 4.

Game 4 Prediction: Who Will Win Hurricanes vs. Panthers?

HURRICANES

Away

2

PANTHERS

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