The Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes meet in Game 1 of a best-of-7 Eastern Conference Finals series Thursday. Puck drop from PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C., is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET (TNT). Below, we analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Panthers vs. Hurricanes odds, and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.
The Hurricanes won 2 of the 3 regular-season meetings against the Panthers, including a 6-4 victory in the season finale on April 13 as the Over (6) cashed. Carolina also won the only meeting in Raleigh on Dec. 30 by a 4-0 score, while Florida won the first battle in Sunrise on Nov. 9 by a 3-0 count.
Florida upended the President’s Trophy-winning Boston Bruins in the first round by 7 games and ousted the Toronto Maple Leafs in 5 games in the second round. The Panthers are 8-4 as underdogs in 12 postseason games and have cashed the Under in the past 5 outings.
Carolina is 4-1 as a favorite in 5 games in the playoffs, while winning 5 of the past 6 contests overall. The Over is 4-1 in the past 5 outings, and 7-2-1 in the past 10 games.
Panthers at Hurricanes odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub Lines last updated at 7:47 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Panthers +120 (bet $100 to win $120) | Hurricanes -145 (bet $145 to win $100)
- Puck line (PL)/Against the spread (ATS): Panthers +1.5 (-225) | Hurricanes -1.5 (+180)
- Over/Under (O/U): 6 (O: +100 | U: -120)
Panthers at Hurricanes projected goalies
Sergei Bobrovsky (24-20-3, 3.07 GAA, .901 SV%, 1 SO – regular season) vs. Frederik Andersen (21-11-1, 2.48 GAA, .903 SV% – regular season)
Bobrovsky didn’t start the first 3 games of the playoffs, but he came on in relief of G Alex Lyon in Game 3 of the Boston series and he hasn’t relinquished the starting job since.
Bob is 7-2-0 with a 2.82 GAA and .918 SV% in the playoffs and has allowed exactly 2 goals in each of the past 5 starts. The 7 postseason wins mark a career-best.
Andersen also didn’t start the postseason as the starting netminder either, as G Antti Raanta was the starter until Game 6 of the New York Islanders series. Andersen started that elimination game on Long Island, and he hasn’t looked back.
Andersen is 5-0-0 with a 1.80 GAA and .931 SV% in 6 starts in the postseason. The one start he left early due to poor performance, Game 3 in New Jersey, rookie G Pyotr Kochetkov was charged with the loss in relief.
Panthers at Hurricanes picks and predictions
Prediction
Panthers 3, Hurricanes 2
Moneyline
The PANTHERS (+120) are a solid play at plus money in Game 1. Florida has been red-hot in the postseason, and its confidence is sky-high.
The Hurricanes are 0-8 in the past 8 Conference Finals games as they’ve run out of steam in the past 2 playoff runs after making it to the third round. Until the Canes can turn things around, fade them and play the road team at plus money.
Puck line/Against the spread
The Panthers +1.5 (-225) will cost you over 2 times your potential return, and that’s just too expensive if you require some insurance and can’t bring yourself to play Florida straight up.
Florida has won 7 of the past 8 games overall while going 12-4 in the past 16 games when playing on 3 or more days of rest. If you like the Panthers, just play them straight up.
PASS.
Over/Under
The UNDER 6 (-120) might be the best play on the board.
The Under has cashed in 5 straight games for the Panthers, with Bobrovsky yielding just 2 goals in each of those outings. The Under is also 4-0 in the past 4 for the Panthers after a straight-up win.
While the Over has dominated for the Hurricanes lately, the Under is 11-5 in the past 16 when playing on 3 or more days of rest. The Under is also 18-6-4 in the past 28 meetings in Raleigh.
For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.
Follow Kevin J. Erickson on Twitter. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and like us on Facebook.