The Eastern Conference Final matchup was a surprise, as both No. 1 seeds were booted, pitting the No. 2 seed Carolina Hurricanes against the No. 3 seed Florida Panthers.
These teams faced each other three times during the regular season, with Florida notching two wins. The Panthers scored six goals in each of those wins, one at home and one on the road. To advance to the ECF, Florida put up six goals in Game 7 against Toronto. Things that make you go hmm.
The Panthers finished with 98 points during the regular season. The Hurricanes finished with 99.
Therefore, it wasn’t surprising that the odds were very close to win the series on DraftKings Sportsbook. Florida was a slight favorite at -125. Carolina was a minuscule underdog at +105.
In Game 1, though, Florida went into Carolina and strutted out with the 5-2 win, despite it being a short turnaround. Florida had one day of rest while Carolina didn’t play for a week.
In Game 2 on Thursday, Florida once again scored five goals. The difference was that Sergei Bobrovsky pitched the shutout. Now Florida returns home up 2-0 in the series.
Game 3 is Saturday in Florida. Florida is -142 on the moneyline while Carolina is +120. Here are the lines:
Unsurprisingley, with Florida up 2-0 in the series and playing the next two games at home, the Panthers are heavy favorites now to win the series and advance to the Stanley Cup Final.
In addition, the sweep is the favorite for the series outcome:
