Panthers vs Hurricanes Prediction - NHL Picks 5/18/23

Carolina Hurricanes (60-24-9) vs Florida Panthers (50-36-8)

Game Info: Thursday, May 18, 2023 at 8:00 pm (PNC Arena)

Betting Odds: Carolina Hurricanes -140 / Florida Panthers +120 --- Over/Under: 5.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds

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The Florida Panthers will play the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Thursday night at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Panthers Preview

The Florida Panthers were able to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in five games in their last series and they are looking very dangerous right now. Florida also beat Boston in the first round of the playoffs. The Panthers struggled on defense at times this season, but they only allowed two goals per game against Toronto. Matthew Tkachuk has led the Panthers this postseason with five goals, 11 assists, and 35 shots on goal, while Carter Verhaeghe has added five goals, seven assists, and 31 shots. Sergei Bobrovsky is 7-2 this postseason with a 2.82 goals against average and a .918 save percentage. 

Hurricanes Preview

The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the New Jersey Devils in five games in their last series. The Hurricanes dominated Games 1, 2, and 4 and out scored the Devils by a total of 17-3 in those three games. Carolina defeated the New York Islanders in six games in the first round. Sebastian Aho has led the Hurricanes this postseason with five goals, five assists, and 24 shots, while Jordan Martinook has added three goals, seven assists, and 30 shots on goal. Frederik Andersen is 5-0 this postseason with a 1.80 goals against average and a .931 save percentage for Carolina.

Trends

Florida is 7-1 in their last 8 games and 7-3 in their last 10 Thursday games. The under is 5-0 in Florida’s last 5 games. Carolina is 42-15 in their last 57 home games and 36-15 in their last 51 Thursday games. The under is 5-1 in Carolina’s last 6 Thursday games. Florida is 5-2 in these two teams last 7 head to head meetings.

Pick

This is a matchup that not many people predicted for the Eastern Conference Finals, but it should be very entertaining. Florida was able to play great defense against Toronto and they got great goaltending from Bobrovsky. Carolina dominated New Jersey for most of their series and they were able to score a ton of goals. I think the goal scoring by Carolina is going to continue in this game and I am taking the over. 

David’s Pick Over 5.5

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The pick in this article is the opinion of the writer, not a PickDawgz site consensus.

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