Hurricanes a Favorite Over Panthers in Eastern Conference Finals

What: Carolina Hurricanes vs Florida Panthers - Eastern Conference Finals
When: May 21, 2023
Where: PNC Arena, North Carolina

The Eastern Conference Finals in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs are officially set. The Carolina Hurricanes will face the Florida Panthers, with a spot in the Stanley Cup on the line. The Canes took down the New Jersey Devils in convincing fashion in the last round in just five games, winning the decisive contest 3-2 in overtime. As for the Panthers, they also took care of the Toronto Maple Leafs fairly easily, also winning in five games. This should be a highly entertaining series between a pair of teams who are playing fantastic hockey at the moment. Game 1 is TBD until the remainder of the conference semifinals wraps up. Keep reading for the Hurricanes vs Panthers series prediction.

Before we get into the odds and picks for this matchup, make sure to check out our online sportsbook reviews, and the top NHL betting sites.

Hurricanes vs Panthers Odds

Team
Carolina Hurricanes	-132	-130	-130
Florida Panthers	+112	+110	+110

The Hurricanes are the series favorite with -132 odds for an implied win probability of 56.90%. The Panthers come back at +112 and have a 47.17% chance of advancing. As for the season series, Carolina took two out of three from Florida.

Series Preview

Carolina might've lost one of their best players in Andrei Svechnikov to a torn ACL prior to the playoffs but boy, that hasn't stopped them from showing out when it matters most. The opening round saw the Hurricanes take down the New York Islanders 4-2 in six games before imposing their will on the Devils.

It's been a really well-rounded offense for Carolina in the postseason. Sebastian Aho and Jordan Martinook both lead the way with 10 points apiece, while the likes of Seth Jarvis, Brent Burns, Max Necas, and several others have all done their part as well. The Canes actually scored more than four goals per night in the Devils series and will be looking to keep that offensive brilliance alive in the conference finals.

The Panthers are arguably the talk of the playoffs because of what they pulled off in the first round. Despite barely getting into the postseason, Florida did the unthinkable and beat the Boston Bruins in seven games, statistically one of the best teams in NHL history. As you could imagine, that gave them a ton of confidence heading into the Leafs series.

Toronto was actually licking their chops after dominating the Panthers during the regular season but that quickly came back to bite them. Florida took it to the Leafs from the get-go, taking a 3-0 lead before finally losing one. But, they closed things out just a couple of days ago to continue their Cinderella run.

Matthew Tkachuk is absolutely flourishing in the playoffs, scoring five goals and tallying 11 assists for a total of 16 points. Carter Verhaeghe meanwhile has 12 points. Four others have at least eight, too. Needless to say, there are lots of weapons on this Florida roster.

It will be very interesting to see if netminder Sergei Bobrovsky can show up like he did against Toronto. With the Canes possessing such a phenomenal attack, the Panthers will certainly need him to be at his absolute best if they're going to make it to the Finals.