The Florida Panthers look to steal Game 1 on the road and gain home-ice advantage in their Eastern Conference Final series against the Carolina Hurricanes.

The defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers are aiming to return to the Final for the third straight season. In the playoffs, they defeated the rival Tampa Bay Lightning in five games and just edged out the Toronto Maple Leafs in a seven-game series. Over the last four games, goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky has come alive, allowing two goals or fewer in each contest.

The Hurricanes made the first two rounds of the playoffs look easy. Carolina dispatched the New Jersey Devils in five games and then cruised past the high-powered Washington Capitals by the same margin. The Canes have emphasized defense and physicality, gradually building leads throughout games. They are a perfect 5-0 on home ice in the postseason and have allowed two goals or fewer in three consecutive games.

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*The above data was collected on May 20, 2025, and may have changed since writing.

Florida Panthers

Carolina Hurricanes

Florida is ranked 15th in scoring, seventh in goals against, tied for 13th on the power play, and 10th on the penalty kill. Sam Reinhart leads the team in goals, assists, and points. In the games where he recorded points during the Maple Leafs series, the Panthers came out on top. Florida won the regular season series against the Hurricanes two games to one, with both wins being high-scoring affairs decided by at least three goals. The Panthers' offense is trending upward, Bobrovsky is playing with confidence, and they have the edge on the power play.

Carolina is ranked ninth in scoring, 10th in goals against, 25th on the power play, and first on the penalty kill. Seth Jarvis leads the team in goals and has recorded at least one point in four straight games. The Hurricanes' offense was inconsistent in their last series, but this team doesn't need to score much to win. All they need is a small lead because Carolina excels in critical moments, such as delivering key penalty kills. It also helps that most of their playoff home wins have been dominant performances.

Best Bet: Under

Florida was just battle-tested against Toronto, with their last two wins in that series being dominant 6–1 victories on the road. The Panthers are 5–2 on the road this postseason, and their offense has performed very well in those games. Carolina can counter that with a perfect home record, the league's top-ranked penalty kill, and a strong goaltender in Frederik Andersen. This game will come down to each team trying to figure the other out, the goaltending battle, and which side blinks first in the critical moments.