Despite being the President Trophy winners last year, almost nobody thought the Florida Panthers would still be alive at this stage of the playoffs. The drop-off in performances this year was significant, but when the postseason commenced, the team found its groove. On the other side, the Carolina Hurricanes are back where they were in 2019 when the Bruins swept them in the conference final. The past few seasons, all promising, have felt like they built up to this moment.

For Game 1, the NHL odds put the Hurricanes as -150 favourites on the moneyline and +176 on the puckline. The total is established at 5.5.

Panthers vs. Hurricanes NHL Playoffs Betting Odds

The hockey savants are giving as much respect as possible to the eighth-seeded Panthers considering what they’ve accomplished this spring. The series table favours Carolina, but only at -128. According to the predictors, the most probable outcome is the Hurricanes reaching the Stanley Cup final by defeating the Panthers 4-2 at +455. One reckons that, after taking out both Boston and Toronto, Florida doesn’t mind one bit.

These sides met thrice during the regular season. The first two were won at home by shutouts, first by Florida 3-0, then Carolina 6-0. Lastly, the Hurricanes took a late-season tilt 6-4 in Florida.

Both teams are very well rested, having won their second-round contests 4-1. The Hurricanes will have not played in an entire week whereas the Panthers last hit the ice on Friday.

Florida Panthers

Why should anyone be surprised if the Panthers win this series? They trailed the Boston Bruins 3-1 in the first round and were a bad bounce away from being eliminated in overtime in Game 5, but they’re the ones still standing. The Maple Leafs did little to deter them either.

The name on everybody’s lips is Sergei Bobrovsky. He doesn’t sport the best GAA in the playoffs at 2.82. Read between the lines and one sees that Games 4 and 6 in the first round were pretty terrible. Everything else has been fantastic and he’s only gotten better. He had three games in round two versus the Maple Leafs with a GAA of 2.00 or less. Another was 2.02. The guy has been phenomenal.

Matthew Tkachuk leads the team in points with 16 (five goals and 11 assists), followed by Carter Verhaeghe’s 12 (five goals and seven helpers). Verhaeghe is a huge reason why the Panthers are here, having scored the famous overtime goal in Game 7 against the Bruins. Being the road team has benefitted Florida this postseason. They haven’t lost away from home since Game 1 of the first round (6-1 record). The struggles have mostly been at home (2-3). We’ll see if Radko Gudas has any more outbursts that don’t sit well with opposing fanbases in this round!

Carolina Hurricanes

Is this the season the Hurricanes make good on the hoopla surrounding their talent? It’s undeniable, to say nothing of their depth. But another elimination before reaching the Stanley Cup final would be a bitter pill to swallow for a fanbase that has already seen a few very good iterations of the Hurricanes get tossed out too early.

Everything seems to have gone well so far in these playoffs. At the moment, Carolina has the fourth-highest goals per game at 3.64.  Conversely, the 2.55 GAA is the second-best. Jesper Fast and Sebastian Aho have both notched five goals, whereas Martin Necas and Seth Jarvis sit at four each.

All three goalies have had some play time, but Frederik Andersen will most likely lead the way. Through six games he’s earned a perfect 5-0 record and 1.80 GAA. Antti Raanta’s 2.59 is quite good, but the choice seems obvious here. Unlike their opponent, the Hurricanes have been strong at home, going 5-1 in these playoffs.

Game 1: Who Will Win Panthers vs. Hurricanes?

PANTHERS

Away

2

HURRICANES

Home

3

Score
Predictions

Matchup