I closed out the second round on Sunday night going 2-1 to win 1.67 units on the Panthers. Tonight the Eastern Conference Finals begin with Game 1 between Florida and Carolina. Let’s start the third round hot!
Game 1: Hurricanes vs. Panthers (8:00)
We have a solid matchup this year for the Eastern Conference finals as the 3 seed in the Atlantic, the defending Stanley Cup Champion, Florida Panthers take on the 2 seed in the East, Carolina Hurricanes. This will be a rematch of the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals where the Panthers swept the Canes in a series that had all close games, with Carolina head coach Rod Brind’Amour saying in his press conference after that they “didn’t get swept”…when they did. The Canes have also gone 0-12 in their last three Eastern Conference Finals appearances, which is a trend they’re expecting to end this year. These teams play quite different styles of hockey, which should setup a good series. I broke this whole series down in depth. I think Florida’s the much deeper team here, they hit harder, they have the better offense, and the best forecheck in the NHL. With that, I expect the Panthers to make their third straight Stanley Cup Finals appearance with a win in this series, likely in six games. I don’t think Carolina gets swept again this year, and it wouldn’t shock me in the slightest if this series takes either five or seven games. I’ll take the Panthers to win the series for 2 units at a solid price at -125. As I said, I don’t think the Hurricanes get swept this year, and do expect them to win at home either in Game 1 tonight or Game 2 on Thursday. I don’t love it enough to bet it though, so I’ll stay off a side tonight. The overs went 2-1 in the regular season between these teams but the playoffs are a different animal and I expect the games in this series to trend under. Both teams have trended under this season, with the under in Hurricanes games going 47-37-8 and the under going 47-45-2 in Panthers games. I just think the styles these teams play both tend to lead to low scoring games. Both goalies, Andersen and Bobrovsky have been fantastic these playoffs. For Carolina, that very sound, man to man defense (which is quite boring to watch) limits shot chances. And then on the other side Florida’s forecheck is better than any team in the league and they have such a huge hard hitting defense. I’ll jump on the under tonight in Game 1 for a unit.
Game Bets
1u Hurricanes/Panthers under 5.5 (-130)
Series Bets
2u Panthers to win series (-125)
Records
Regular Season: 567-497-14 (-58.18 units)
Round 1: 40-39 (-1.19 units)
Round 2: 24-20 (+1.39 units)
Round 3: 0-0 (0 units)
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