NHL betting preview (May 22): Panthers vs. Hurricanes Game 2 odds

Join Daily Faceoff’s Nick Martin as he handicaps Thursday’s NHL playoff matchup between the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes.

Panthers vs. Hurricanes Game 2 Odds

• Panthers Moneyline: +110
• Hurricanes Moneyline: -130
• Puck Line: Panthers +1.5 (-250), Hurricanes -1.5 (+200)
• Game Total: 5.5 (Over +105, Under -125)

Game odds via Sports Interaction. Get Daily Faceoff’s Sports Interaction bonus code here!

Florida Panthers

The Panthers were able to carry their tremendous play in Game 7 versus the Toronto Maple Leafs into Game 1 of this series, as they imposed their will physically early on and were able to make life tough for Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen.

The underlying statistics paint the game in a favorable light for the Hurricanes, who generated 3.17 expected goals compared to the Panthers’ total of 1.78. However, those totals came with the Hurricanes trailing for 51:30 of the game and do not quantify the fact that Carolina’s shooters were still pressured on many of their interior shots.

The Hurricanes have made a habit of making the other team’s goaltender look entirely dominant historically in the postseason, as was the case when these teams met in the 2023 Eastern Conference Final. A higher percentage of the shots Andersen faced were legitimate scoring chances, but with that in mind, Sergei Bobrovsky was certainly still the sharper goaltender, stopping 31 of 35 shots faced.

The Panthers’ fourth line of A.J. Greer, Tomas Nosek, and Jonah Gadjovich provided the team with yet another even-strength marker and has now outscored opponents 4-0 this postseason.

The Hurricanes fared well versus the Panthers’ second line of Matthew Tkachuk, Carter Verhaeghe, and Sam Bennett in even-strength play, as they limited the trio to only 0.15 expected goals, and generated 0.54 expected goals against the trio.

Tkachuk was able to chip in a secondary assist on Verhaeghe’s game-opening power-play goal but was very quiet otherwise and continues to look as though he is playing through a significant injury, as has been widely speculated.

Carolina Hurricanes

Two of the Hurricanes’ greatest strengths throughout their playoff run became weaknesses in Game 1 of the series, as their penalty kill faltered twice in its three opportunities to work, while Andersen allowed 2.8 goals above expectation.

From a run of play perspective, the Hurricanes were true to form in generating 34 scoring chances and pouring 33 shots towards Bobrovsky. Upon further review of the game, it would be fair to say that the Hurricanes did do enough offensively to generate a better output on average. From a defensive perspective though, the Hurricanes made lots of sloppy mistakes in key areas of the ice and were not as sharp in front of Andersen as the statistics suggested.

Head coach Rod Brind’Amour appears to be taking a hard-headed approach in sticking with Scott Morrow as his sixth defenseman instead of highly touted prospect Alexander Nikishin, which seems highly debatable after Game 1.

While it’s tough to ask an unproven talent to jump right into the lineup versus a defending champion Panthers side, Nikishin has a drastically better skill set than Morrow and has significantly higher upside. Morrow finished with a -3 rating in Game 1, and took a needless puck-over-glass penalty, which led to the Panthers’ fourth marker.

The focus for the Hurricanes in this matchup will likely be to get back to what they do best, minimizing mistakes in the defensive zone and creating prolonged spells of possession at the other end of the ice.

While they did create enough looks to score more than two goals in a surprisingly wide open Game 1, it’s unrealistic to believe the Hurricanes will be able to score their way out of trouble in this series versus the Panthers, who have typically allowed very few goals against in the later games of every series throughout the last three postseasons.

Best bet for Panthers vs. Hurricanes Game 2

• Matthew Tkachuk Under 0.5 Points +140 at Sports Interaction

Considering the current betting prices, there looks to be more value in backing the Panthers at +110 in terms of betting on a side. Carolina may be able to continue to carry more of the overall run of play, but Bobrovsky is the more proven starter historically, and the Panthers do a better job of creating true high-danger scoring chances.

While it seems fair to believe the Panthers have a good chance of grabbing a 2-0 series stranglehold on the road, Tkachuk and the second line look to be quite overvalued.

The Tkachuk-Verhaeghe-Bennett line was unable to generate anything significant at even strength in Game 1, after a very quiet series versus the Leafs. Florida’s third and fourth lines continue to play at a very high level, so head coach Paul Maurice may not feel overly inclined to offer his second line a hefty workload if they are not playing well early on.

It will certainly be a sweat needing to fade Tkachuk getting a power-play point once again in this matchup, but the Hurricanes’ penalty kill has been fantastic all postseason long and should be able to offer a better performance in this matchup.