Florida Panthers vs. Carolina Hurricanes Game 1 Best Bets, Props & Picks

The Florida Panthers are four victories away from reaching the Stanley Cup Final for the third straight season. But the Carolina Hurricanes badly want to end their run.

The Panthers, the defending Stanley Cup champions, enter the Eastern Conference finals against the Hurricanes with Game 1 set for Tuesday night in Raleigh, North Carolina. Two seasons ago, Florida swept Carolina in four games — winning each by one goal — to reach the Stanley Cup Final.

Revenge will be on the minds of the Hurricanes, who are rested and haven’t played since eliminating the Washington Capitals last Thursday. Florida advanced Sunday with a Game 7 road victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs before traveling to North Carolina on Monday.

Florida Panthers vs. Carolina Hurricanes Game 1 Best Bets

It may have been two seasons ago, but the fact Carolina scored just six goals while being swept will be on the minds of their fans in Game 1. Struggle to score and then lose at home? The “Here we go again” folks will be chirping all over social media.

The Hurricanes have allowed just 18 goals in 10 playoff games and have a stellar 93.3 percent penalty-kill rate (28 of 30). So it’s safe to say it’s the offense that needs to step up. Carolina has scored 34 goals during the playoffs.

Florida has tallied a league-best 45 goals in 12 postseason games. The Panthers have scored six goals four times, including in two of the final three games against the Maple Leafs. They’ve also fared well on the penalty kill, posting an 89.5 percent success rate (34 of 38).

The Panthers went 2-1 against Carolina in the regular season, but could there be some tired legs in Game 1? This is the game the Hurricanes must have.

Hurricanes moneyline, -125 (DraftKings)

NHL Conference Finals Game 1 Best Bets

Here’s a wild stat — 17 Panthers have scored a goal in the postseason, and 10 of them have scored three or more. That’s serious puck distribution.

Sam Bennett leads the way with six, while Sam Reinhart, Anton Lundell and Carter Verhaeghe have four apiece. Brad Marchand and Eetu Luostarinen top the club with 12 points each, with both players tallying three goals and nine assists.

Carolina has five players with three or more goals, with Andrei Svechnikov ranking second in the NHL with eight playoff tallies. Worth noting: Svechnikov missed the 2023 series against Florida after undergoing ACL surgery on his right knee. Seth Jarvis’ four goals rank next among the Hurricanes.

It’s tough to predict which Florida player might score in any given game, but the hottest hand clearly belongs to Svechnikov, who notched a hat trick in Carolina’s first-round series against the New Jersey Devils.

Andrei Svechnikov, anytime goal scorer, +210 (DraftKings)

Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen has been superb, posting a 7-2-0 record with a 1.36 goals-against average and .937 save percentage in the postseason. He’s allowed two or fewer goals in eight appearances and just 12 goals overall. Not even the ice can cool this guy down.

Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky came up big late in the Toronto series, allowing just four goals over the final four games. That strong run followed a rough stretch in which he gave up 22 goals over his previous six appearances. If Bobrovsky (8-4-0, 2.31 GAA) hadn’t returned to form, we’d all be watching the Maple Leafs this week.

Bobrovsky started twice against Carolina during the regular season, with the teams splitting those two games. Andersen, who missed nearly three months due to knee surgery, did not face Florida this season.

Both goalies figure to be up to the challenge in Game 1 — but the fact that the Panthers twice scored six goals against Carolina this season does matter, even if none of the four netminders they beat had “Andersen” stitched across their shoulders.

Over 5.5 goals, +105 (DraftKings)