Panthers and Hurricanes rekindle their 2023 rivalry in a high-stakes Game 1 showdown of Eastern Conference Finals Tuesday
For the second time in three seasons, the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers are set to clash in the Eastern Conference Final with a trip to the Stanley Cup Final on the line.
The Panthers, making their third consecutive appearance in the conference finals, enter the series riding the momentum of a dominant 6-1 Game 7 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Florida’s battle-tested lineup is looking to return to the Stanley Cup Final for the third year in a row, and they’ll have history on their side after sweeping the Hurricanes in their last playoff meeting in the 2023 Conference Finals.
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But this year’s Hurricanes team appears more battle-hardened and dangerous than the one that fell short two seasons ago. Carolina made a statement in the second round by eliminating the top-seeded Washington Capitals in just five games, showcasing both their newfound depth and scoring touch.
This series promises high intensity, fast-paced action, and no shortage of bad blood between two teams that know each other all too well and it all kicks off Tuesday night.
For bettors, this matchup provides a chance to capitalize on some of our recent strong trends, like our 9-5 record on our last 14 picks, including perfect records during Game 1 and 4 of the Maple Leafs-Senators series.
All betting lines are from FanDuel Sportsbook and are subject to change. Hockey is a difficult sport to predict so please gamble responsibly.
Florida Panthers vs Carolina Hurricanes Best Bets:
- Under 5.5 goals (-134)
- Panthers Under 2.5 goals (-104)
- Hurricanes ML (-125)
- Matthew Tkachuk Under 0.5 points (+134)
The player most people remember from the Panthers last postseason meeting with Carolina is Matthew Tkachuk, who scored two game-winning goals. The Arizona native has been notably playing through an injury that has limited his offence to three goals and six assists, four of which were secondary, totalling nine points through 12 games.
Tkachuk rides a nine-game goal drought and recorded no points in his final two games versus Toronto. People are expecting a bounce back here but I don’t see it happening against a battle-tested Canes defence that limited the Capitals to two or fewer goals in four of their five series games.
Washington had the second-best offence in the league during the regular season with a 3.49 goals per game average compared to Florida’s 3.00 average. The Capitals scored 40 more goals than the Panthers this season and the Canes held them in check due to stellar play from netminder Fredrick Andersen.
At home, the Swedish netminder has a perfect 5-0 record with a 1.60 goals against average this postseason and is the betting favourite on the Hurricanes to win the Conn Smythe trophy as playoff MVP.
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If the Panthers wanna win it’ll have to be with clutch goals and elite goaltending ii return which they’ve received as well but from Sergei Bobrovsky. The star goaltender helped lead the Panthers to a championship last season and hasn’t skipped a beat with a sensational effort versus the Maple Leafs when his team needed him with four goals allowed over the final four games.
The public didn’t like the low-scoring games Carolina forced into Washington in the second round but I would expect this again as both teams will look to smother each other and play a solid defensive game as they have all season. All but the final game of their series two years ago had every game go under five goals and I expect we should see a similar story here.
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