The NHL Eastern Conference Final had the makings of a fun and competitive series, but through the first two games, blowouts have been the only story. The Florida Panthers ran away with Game 1 by a 5-2 margin before lighting up the scoreboard again with a 5-0 shutout win in Game 2 over the Carolina Hurricanes.
With the next contest on deck this evening as the series shifts to Sunrise, Florida, here’s a Panthers vs. Hurricanes Game 3 prediction and pick on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Panthers vs. Hurricanes Game 3 prediction, pick
The Panthers once again enter as favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook with -142 odds to win on the Moneyline and +170 odds to cover the -1.5 puck line. The Hurricanes come in as +120 road underdogs with -205 odds to cover. The game total sits at a low 5.5 total goals.
The Panthers are a dominant team to begin with, but they’re clearly in a different stratosphere than these Hurricanes. Florida’s depth carried the scoring load in Game 1 as A.J. Greer, Carter Verhaeghe, Eetu Luostarinen all netted goals alongside Sam Bennett and Aaron Ekblad. In Game 2, though, the stars did all the talking — Bennett lit the net twice, while Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk each scored along with Gustav Forsling.
There’s just so many Ice Cats who can kill the Canes, but Carolina doesn’t enjoy the same level of depth across all four lines. Nor do they have the same talent at goaltender as the difference between Sergei Bobrovsky and Frederik Andersen becomes even more apparent.
As they go back in front of the home crowd on their own ice tonight, watch for the Panthers to blow the Hurricanes out again in Game 3. They may not score another five goals for the third straight game, but this Florida team are clear favorites to emerge from the Eastern Conference, as well as cover the spread tonight.
Best bet: FLA Panthers -1.5 (+170)
