NHL Conference Finals Game 1 Best Bets

Here’s a wild stat — 17 Panthers have scored a goal in the postseason, and 10 of them have scored three or more. That’s serious puck distribution.

Sam Bennett leads the way with six, while Sam Reinhart, Anton Lundell and Carter Verhaeghe have four apiece. Brad Marchand and Eetu Luostarinen top the club with 12 points each, with both players tallying three goals and nine assists.

Carolina has five players with three or more goals, with Andrei Svechnikov ranking second in the NHL with eight playoff tallies. Worth noting: Svechnikov missed the 2023 series against Florida after undergoing ACL surgery on his right knee. Seth Jarvis’ four goals rank next among the Hurricanes.

It’s tough to predict which Florida player might score in any given game, but the hottest hand clearly belongs to Svechnikov, who notched a hat trick in Carolina’s first-round series against the New Jersey Devils.

Andrei Svechnikov, anytime goal scorer, +210 (DraftKings)

Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen has been superb, posting a 7-2-0 record with a 1.36 goals-against average and .937 save percentage in the postseason. He’s allowed two or fewer goals in eight appearances and just 12 goals overall. Not even the ice can cool this guy down.

Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky came up big late in the Toronto series, allowing just four goals over the final four games. That strong run followed a rough stretch in which he gave up 22 goals over his previous six appearances. If Bobrovsky (8-4-0, 2.31 GAA) hadn’t returned to form, we’d all be watching the Maple Leafs this week.

Bobrovsky started twice against Carolina during the regular season, with the teams splitting those two games. Andersen, who missed nearly three months due to knee surgery, did not face Florida this season.

Both goalies figure to be up to the challenge in Game 1 — but the fact that the Panthers twice scored six goals against Carolina this season does matter, even if none of the four netminders they beat had “Andersen” stitched across their shoulders.

Over 5.5 goals, +105 (DraftKings)