Go With Favored Hurricanes To Top Panthers In Game 1 Of NHL Playoffs

• What: NHL Playoffs.
• Who: Florida Panthers at Carolina Hurricanes
• When: Tuesday, May 20, 8:00 p.m.

Just two years ago in the NHL playoffs, the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes clashed in the Eastern Conference final. And here they are again, meeting in another best-of-seven set to see which team will be advancing to the Stanley Cup final.

Florida won that series from Carolina in a four-game sweep. Last season the Panthers returned to the Cup final and defeated the Edmonton Oilers to win the NHL championship. Along with the 2023 setback, Carolina also lost recently in the 2019 East final.

Coming off an emotional Game 7 win at Toronto, oddsmakers are seeing the Panthers as perhaps being a bit spent. The rested Hurricanes are established as the -128 home favorites in NHL playoffs betting for Game 1.

Let's look at the latest betting line on this game. , odds are subject to change.

Though it's the Hurricanes who are the pick in Game 1, in NHL playoffs future wagering, the Panthers are set as the -128 chalk to win this series and move on to the Stanley Cup final. Carolina is a -107 underdog to get to the Cup final series for the first time since 2006.

Best NHL Playoffs Picks For You

Before we take a deeper analyis into which are the best bets on the NHL playoffs for Game 1 of this Panthers vs Hurricanes Eastern Conference final series, why not check out our inclusive Stanley Cup futures page.

Panthers vs Hurricanes Betting Trends

That 2023 Eastern Conference final is the only previous playoff meeting between the two teams. That means Carolina has never beaten Florida in the NHL playoffs. However, the Hurricanes have won three of the past five regular-season games against the Panthers. On home ice, though, Carolina is 2-5 straight up in the past seven games against Florida.

Overall, the Panthers are 12-5 SU in the last 17 games facing the Hurricanes. Against all teams, Florida is 4-1 SU in the past five games. The Panthers are 8-4 SU in the club's past 12 games against Eastern Conference opposition.

Carolina is 8-2 SU in the club's past 10 games. The Hurricanes are 9-1 SU through the last 10 games on home ice. Against Eastern Conference opposition, Carolina is 12-9 through the past 21 games.

Four of the last five games between Florida and Carolina have gone under. Six of the past seven games between the two teams played at Carolina also hit on the under.

Eight of Florida's last 10 games went over on the total. In each of the past five road games played by the Panthers, the over was also the winning play on the total.

Four of Carolina's last five games went under. Four of the last six home games played by the Hurricanes were also coming in under the total.

The Hurricanes are 52-32-6 SU as a betting favorite this season. Carolina is 28-18 against the puck line as a home team. Florida is 23-25 against the puck line as the road club. The Panthers are 9-7 SU as the underdog in the betting line.

2023 Series Closer Than It Looked

Although Florida did sweep Carolina in the 2023 Eastern Conference final, that series was contested much more closely than it sounds. All four games were one-goal decisions. Game 1 featured four overtimes and wound up being the sixth-longest game in NHL playoffs history.

ECF dates are locked in! pic.twitter.com/FVUysaKkzU

— x - Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) May 19, 2025

Many players are back from that set and both teams are well-experienced at going this deep into the postseason. There are 33 players -  17 with Florida, 16 with Carolina — who've played at least one game in the conference finals previously.

Could Svechnikov Be Difference Maker For Hurricanes?

In that 2023 Eastern Conference final meeting, Carolina forward Andrei Svechnikov was missing the entire set against the Panthers due to a season-ending knee injury. Not only is he good to go this time around, Svechnikov is second in the NHL playoffs this spring with eight goals.

Players to have 8+ goals, 3+ game-winning goals, 35+ shots on goal & 2 or fewer penalty minutes through 10 games of a single playoff run:

2025 Andrei Svechnikov
1987 Tim Kerr
1983 Wayne Gretzky
1981 Steve Payne

That’s it. pic.twitter.com/zsvqrlHMTq

— Greg Harvey (@BetweenTheNums) May 16, 2025

Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen is also proving to be a major stumbling block for enemy shooters. The Danish netminder is leading all goalies with multiple postseason starts in goals-against average (1.36) and save percentage (.937).

Florida vs Carolina NHL Playoffs Picks

The Panthers took a breath after an impressive 6-1 Game 5 win at Toronto and fell 2-0 at home in Game 6. Now that they've survived a win or go home Game 7 on the road, it's not going to be at all surprising that this team will again exhale and perhaps not bring the club's A game to the ice for the Eastern Conference final opener.

To win, though, Carolina must overcome the club's 12-game losing streak in Eastern Conference final series. Still, you have to think those four days of rest will serve the Hurricanes well against a weary bunch of Panthers. Take the Canes to defeat the Panthers in Game 1 Eastern Conference final NHL playoffs picks.