Loading...
The NHL Conference Finals are here, and the Eastern Conference bracket brings the Florida Panthers to the home of the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena! It’s Game 1 in a best-of-seven series, so prepare for the puck drop at 8 PM ET sharp.
Review my picks for the opening game between the Panthers and Hurricanes and decide whether they’re something you want to fade or follow!
The Panthers recently overcame troubling opponents in the Toronto Maple Leafs, after reaching Game 7 in a tied series during the last round. Toronto led the series 2-0 early on before the Panthers tied it up 2-2. Game 5 saw the Panthers net 6 goals to take the lead the first time in the series, although they were shut out by the Maple Leafs in Game 6. However, Game 7 ended with Florida dealing a crushing 6-1 win away to secure their spot in the Conference Finals.
This year, the Panthers boast 31 goals scored in the playoffs, and while they’re on the higher end of scoring points, they’ve allowed 29 total goals against them. Brad Marchand and Eetu Luostarinen lead the team in points with 3 goals and 9 assists each after 12 games. Teammates Sam Reinhart and Aleksander Barkov have combined for 7 goals and 14 assists in the playoffs to follow up on Luostarinen and Marchand’s lead.
The team has no shortage of points scorers, including Anton Lundell (4 goals and 6 assists), Sam Bennett (6 goals and 3 assists), Matthew Tkachuk (3 goals and 6 assists), Carter Verhaeghe (4 goals and 4 assists) and Nate Schmidt (3 goals and 4 assists) all of which contributed to the Panthers postseason success. With the help of Sergei Bobrovsky in net (2.31 goals allowed per game), the team will hopefully improve on their 8-4 playoff record.
The Carolina Hurricanes made the Washington Capitals opponents look trivial after dominating the series 4-1. Game 1 went to OT for Carlonia to achieve the early series lead, but the Capitals tied it up in Game 2. Game 3 onward was the point of no return, where the Hurricanes first shut out the Capitals to completely run away with a three-game winning streak and 12 goals in the bag. While the team hardly struggled against the Capitals last round, the defending Stanley Cup champs will likely be a different test.
In the 2025 postseason, the Hurricanes have looked very promising, scoring 34 goals in total over just 10 games and allowing only 18 to hit the back of their net. Sebastian Aho leads the team in point scoring with 3 goals and 7 assists, and teammate Center Seth Jarvis ties Aho in points, with 4 goals and 6 assists. Andrei Svechnikov has 8 goals and 1 assist to his name in the postseason, and we fully expect him to add to his tally with another goal tonight.
Bringing up the rear is defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere with 3 goals and 4 assists, proving the Hurricanes to be a well-rounded point-scoring team overall. On top of that, goalie Frederik Anderson leads goaltenders during the 2025 postseason with a 7-2 record, only allowing 1.36 goals per game.
We all know how home games have proved to be wild cards this playoff season, but the Hurricanes still take the advantage tonight playing at PNC Arena. Despite the Panthers being the reigning Stanley Cup Champions from the 2023-24 season with a lot of offensive firepower this season, all signs point towards the Hurricanes in this matchup.
Carolina has produced more shots and goals and is 8-2 during the postseason. With Aho and Svechnikov’s chemistry on the ice, I expect Svechnikov to score 1+ goals tonight to help the Hurricanes take the lead in the series.
Liam has been a major sports fan and soccer player for over a decade, with a particular focus on major top-level soccer leagues, including the EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and MLS. He has written numerous promotional articles for various top sportsbooks and continues to publish historical and factual sports articles covering the NFL, MLS, NHL, MLB, EPL and more.