Panthers vs Hurricanes Game 1 Odds, Spread & Picks (May 18)

• Game 1 between between the Panthers and the Hurricanes goes down on Thursday, May 18th
• The Hurricanes are -145 home favorites and took two of three from Florida this year
• All the Panthers vs Hurricanes odds can be found below, as well as our best bet and picks

Two teams from the old Southeast Division find themselves clashing for the right to advance to the next round of the NHL Playoff Bracket, and a right to play for the Stanley Cup. Eastern Conference final action begins on Thursday, May 18th with the Panthers taking on the Hurricanes with faceoff slated for 8:00 pm ET.

During the regular season, Carolina won two of three games between the two and finished 19 points ahead of the Panthers in the standings. However, the Cats have already slayed the record-setting Bruins and a Maple Leafs squad that finished with the fourth-best record in the league.

Broadcast coverage for this affair will be provided by TNT, CBC and Sportsnet. Below, you can see all the Panthers vs Hurricanes odds, while we analyze the matchup and the starting goaltenders. We’ll also offer up our best bet and predictions for this contest.

Panthers vs Hurricanes Game 1 Odds

As indicated in the Panthers vs Hurricanes series preview, Carolina is one of the best defensive teams in the league, and has been for years. Only Boston allowed fewer goals per game than the Canes this season.

Oddly enough, it was Florida that won a number of low-scoring matchups last round, hitting the under in each of their five games against Toronto. As was the case for every game against the Leafs, the Panthers are underdogs against Carolina at +115 on the moneyline, with the over/under for Game 1 pegged at 5.5 goals.

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Panthers vs Hurricanes History and Latest News

This will be the first playoff meeting between the Panthers and Hurricanes. There are some interesting storylines in this series including Hurricanes bench boss Rod Brind’Amour trying to outstrategize the man that coached him for years in Carolina, Paul Maurice.

https://twitter.com/1929_hockey/status/1657417073264578561

Florida shutout the Canes in their first meeting this season, way back in November, but the last two times they faced one another, Carolina buried a combined 10 goals securing wins in both contests. Interestingly enough, Panthers starting goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky wasn’t in goal for any of those meetings.

Panthers vs Hurricanes Results This Season

Another storyline involves former long-time Cane, Eric Staal, who won his first and only cup with Carolina as a 21-year-old, looking to defeat his former squad as a Panther and get what might be his last kick at the can to win another championship.

Online sportsbooks don’t appear to think that Florida can score three massive series upsets in a row, as Carolina has the shortest Stanley Cup odds of the remaining teams at +210, with the Panthers sitting at +350. They’ve come a long way from their +2800 odds when the postseason began.

Panthers vs Hurricanes Goaltending Matchup

Neither Game 1 starter began the playoffs as the number-one netminder for their teams. Both Sergei Bobrovsky and Frederik Andersen took over the reigns in the first round and haven’t relinquished starting duties since. Former two-time Vezina winner, Bobrovsky, was particularly impressive during the Maple Leafs in the second round.

Bobrovsky vs Andersen Playoff Stats

While Andersen has the more impressive numbers throughout the postseason, Bob allowed only 10 goals in five games against the Leafs in the last round, posting a 1.89 goals against average and .943 save percentage.

If the Cats go all the way, he’ll be a strong contender for the Conn Smythe trophy as he’s giving his team a chance in the NHL odds night in and night out.

Panthers vs Hurricanes Prediction

Another encouraging piece of news for the Hurricanes entering this series is the imminent return of winger, Teuvo Teravainen. He broke his hand early in the first round against the Islanders and will bring additional scoring to the Canes who are already without big scorers Andrei Svechnikov and Max Pacioretty.

Rod Brind'Amour on Teuvo Teravainen's status following today's practice:

"Hopefully he's going to play… We'll probably morning skate (tomorrow) and make the determination after that… If he can go and he feels like ready ready, then he'll be in." pic.twitter.com/GrwqXdYMB9

— Walt Ruff (@WaltRuff) May 17, 2023

Other than Game 3, where the Canes allowed eight goals in their only loss to the Devils, Carolina held New Jersey to five goals in four contests. Florida is coming off a series where all the games were low scoring.

In two of their three head-to-head meetings this campaign, these teams hit the under, so our prediction is that Bobrovsky continues his hot run and we see a cagey affair for Game 1 with these teams going below 5.5 goals.

Pick: Under 5.5 Goals (+100)