The Florida Panthers (45-17-4) take on the Carolina Hurricanes (39-20-6) Thursday at PNC Arena. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+). Below, we analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Panthers vs. Hurricanes odds, and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.
The Cats beat the Dallas Stars 4-3 on the road Tuesday. Dallas got up 3-0 before the Panthers turned it on midway through the 2nd with 4 unanswered goals the rest of the way. C Aleksander Barkov had 2 goals in the victory. After a slow start, he has scored 6 times since Feb. 24.
The Canes fell 1-0 to the New York Rangers Tuesday night. We hope you tailed us as we cashed all 3 bets, including a +140 on the Rangers’ ML! They fired 28 shots but could not crack Rangers G Igor Shesterkin. They are 6 points back of the Rangers for 1st in the division now and are 8 points up on the 3rd-place team. I won’t say they don’t have motivation to play well, but they are in that tweener spot in the standings where some regression could take place.
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Panthers at Hurricanes odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 1:05 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Panthers +100 (bet $100 to win $100) | Hurricanes -120 (bet $120 to win $100)
- Puck line (PL)/Against the spread (ATS): Panthers +1.5 (-250) | Hurricanes -1.5 (+200)
- Over/Under (O/U): 5.5 (O: -120 | U: +100)
Panthers at Hurricanes projected goalies
Sergei Bobrovsky (32-12-2, 2.30 GAA, .918 SV%, 4 SO) vs. Frederik Andersen (17-11-3, 2.39 GAA, .910 SV%, 3 SO)
“Bob” allowed 3 goals against Dallas Tuesday. It was the 1st time he allowed 3 goals in a game since Jan. 19. He had a 1.57 GAA in February and has a 1.76 GAA in 4 March starts after that “meltdown” against Dallas. You’d be hard-pressed to find a goalie in a better spot than him right now. He is 1-1 against Carolina this year and allowed a combined 3 goals in the 2 games.
Andersen has been rock solid in 2 starts back from injury that kept him out since Nov. 2. He’s 2-0 and has allowed just 3 goals on 45 combined shots. He had 1 start against Florida in the regular season last year and stopped 30 of 34 in a 6-4 win before losing all 3 starts against it in the postseason.
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Panthers at Hurricanes picks and predictions
Prediction
Hurricanes 3, Panthers 2
Moneyline
Each team won on its home ice in this matchup this season with the latest being a 1-0 game in Carolina Feb. 22. The Panthers have won 7 of the last 10 meetings and 3 of 5 at PNC. The Panthers are 8-2-0 in the last 10, and they’re road warriors at 24-8-2 on the season. However, they’re going to be without D Aaron Ekblad (lower body), and C Sam Bennett (undisclosed) and C Evan Rodrigues (lower body) were just ruled out.
With Carolina chomping at the bit after being shut out, on its home ice and receiving great goaltending, I lean toward it. This is a close one, and the books nailed the price.
Take the HURRICANES -120.
Puck line/Against the spread
Too expensive on the PL here, but I love the SGP of HURRICANES + UNDER 6.5 GOALS (+188).
That gives a spoiler to the next section, but there is solid value there and good reason to see a tight, low-scoring affair.
Over/Under
So we’re going Under here. The last Game was 1-0. The last 5 in Carolina between these teams all had 5 or fewer goals. The Canes are 2-8 O/U over their last 10, and the Panthers are 4-5-1. Need we say more?
Take the UNDER 5.5 (+100) or just stick with the aforementioned parlay at nearly double money.
The windows are open, North Carolina!
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