Florida Panthers vs Carolina Hurricanes Prediction, Preview and Odds - 05/20/2023

Game Time: 8:00 pm ET, Saturday, May 20, 2023

Venue:  PNC Arena, Raleigh, NC

Where to Watch:  TNT

DraftKings:  Moneyline:  Panthers +125, Hurricanes -145; Over/Under:  5.5 goals

Bet365:  Moneyline:  Panthers +130, Hurricanes -150; Over/Under:  5.5 goals

BetMGM:  Moneyline:  Panthers +130, Hurricanes -155; Over/Under:  6 goals

Florida Panthers:  42-32-8 (4th place, Atlantic Division)

Carolina Hurricanes:  52-21-9 (1st place, Metropolitan Division)

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Florida Panthers:  8-2-0 last 10

Carolina Hurricanes:  6-3-1 last 10

The Panthers are entering this game finishing the regular season with 92 points, a 42-32-8 record overall, and they were 19-19-3 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game on a 2 game winning streak with wins coming against the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Carolina Hurricanes in their last game, winning that one on the road 3-2 in the 4th overtime. Aleksander Barkov, Carter Verhaeghe, and Matthew Tkachuk each scored 1 goal in that game. Anthony Duclair led the team in assists with 2 while Anthony Duclair and Brandon Montour each led the team in shots on net in that game with 8. Sergei Bobrovsky was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 2 goals on 65 shots with 63 saves and a .969 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 266 goals this season averaging 3.2 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 213 goals against them allowing 2.6 goals per game.

The Hurricanes are entering this game finishing the regular season with 113 points, a 52-21-9 record overall, and they were 28-10-3 in their home games this regular season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off of a loss against the Florida Panthers in their last game, losing that one at home 3-2 in 4OT. Seth Jarvis and Stefan Noesen each scored 1 goal in that game. Seth Jarvis, Sebastian Aho, Brent Burns, and Martin Nečas each led the team in assists with 1 while Brent Burns led the team in shots on net in that game with 8. Frederik Andersen was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 3 goals on 60 shots with 57 saves and a .950 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 266 goals this season averaging 3.2 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 213 goals against them allowing 2.6 goals per game.

The current betting odds have the Hurricanes listed as a slight favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. This is game 2 of a 7-game series between the Panthers and the Hurricanes for the Eastern Conference finals of the NHL playoffs. The Panthers are entering this game with a 1-0 series lead after stealing the 1st road game of this series with a win that took 4 overtimes to settle. Both teams were very tired by the end of that game and anyone could have won it by then but the Hurricanes are still the better team in this series and they are going to come out much harder in this next home game to even up the series. The Panthers have been really hot lately but they have been getting outplayed in a lot of their games and it is only a matter of time until they start to slip up on defense which hasn't been their strong suit. The Hurricanes have a much better defense than the Panthers do and they also have a stronger offense that will lead them to a win with a better performance in this game on home ice. The Hurricanes saw what the Panthers did to the Leafs after winning the first 2 road games so the Hurricanes are going to throw everything they have at the Panthers here to ensure they even up the series going into Florida for the next 2 games. The best way to place a bet here is on the Hurricanes to win this game and even up the series 1-1.

Panthers Hurricanes Prediction:  Our NHL Pick for Saturday, May 20, 2023 (8:00 pm ET start time) is Hurricanes 5 Panthers 2.

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Florida Panthers: 23-27 (-12.6 units) on the moneyline off a win or tie in their previous game. 21-20 (-5.5 units) on the moneyline after scoring 3 goals or more in 2 straight games. 6-1 UNDER when leading in a playoff series. 7-3 UNDER in the 2nd game of a playoff series. 

Carolina Hurricanes: 161-93 (+10.5 units) on the moneyline in all games. 23-11 (+6.8 units) on the moneyline when playing only their 2nd game in 5 days. 10-3 UNDER off a home loss. 23-11 UNDER revenging a home loss versus opponent.

Florida Panthers:  S. Knight (G) Out indefinitely - Personal. P. Hornqvist (RW) out for season - Concussion.

Carolina Hurricanes:  O. Kase (RW) Late May - Concussion. A. Svechnikov (RW) out for season - Knee. M. Pacioretty (LW) out for season - Achilles. J. Gardiner (D) Out indefinitely - Hip.

“Definitely, tired but I think you're less tired when you win. I hope you guys and everybody else enjoyed that game, because what I'm seeing is two really good teams fighting it out for every inch.” - Matthew Tkachuk after their win against the Hurricanes in their game on Thursday, game 1 of this series.

“It was a good goalie battle. It was unfortunate we just couldn't find one.” - Rod Brind’Amour after his team’s loss against the Panthers in their game on Thursday, game 1 of this series.

LW Verhaeghe, Carter

C Barkov, Aleksander

RW Duclair, Anthony

LD Forsling, Gustav

RD Ekblad, Aaron

G Bobrovsky, Sergei

LW Noesen, Stefan

C Aho, Sebastian

RW Jarvis, Seth

LD Slavin, Jaccob

RD Burns, Brent

G Andersen, Frederik

Points: M. Tkachuk (109)

Goals: C. Verhaeghe (42)

Assists: M. Tkachuk (69)

GAA: A. Lyon (2.89)

Points: M. Necas (71)

Goals: S. Aho (36)

Assists: M. Necas (43)

GAA: A. Raanta (2.23)

Coaches:

Florida Panthers: Paul Maurice (1st season)

Carolina Hurricanes: Rod Brind'Amour (5th season)