NHL Game 2 Best Bets: Expert Picks Panthers vs. Hurricanes Analysis

Written by

Daniel Dobish

Published on May 22, 2025

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The Stanley Cup Playoffs continue Thursday night with Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C. Puck drop is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on TNT/truTV/Max. We'll take a look at not only the moneyline and total, but we'll make some prop predictions and same-game parlay picks, too. Let's get started.

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Panthers vs Hurricanes Game 2: Betting Tips, Odds & Predictions

For the latest NHL Odds, including NHL Futures and NHL player props, visit RotoWire's NHL Betting page. For up-to-date NHL player news and NHL Injury Report info, head to RotoWire's NHL Lineups page. You can find more picks at Bookies.com/picks. Here are our NHL Best Bets today, featuring expert NHL picks for an action-packed slate of games.

Strategies for Betting on Game 2: Panthers vs Hurricanes

The defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers wasted very little time quieting the self-proclaimed "loudest house in the NHL", as Carter Verhaeghe scored on the power play at 8:30 of the first period with helpers to Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk, while Aaron Ekblad added an even-strength goal at 12:29 to make it 2-0.

Sebastian Aho scored his fourth goal of the playoffs at 19:44, just before the first-period horn, slicing the lead to 2-1 before heading to the room.

In the second period, A.J. Greer notched his second goal of the postseason, while Sam Bennett scored on the power play at 6:08 of the third to make it 4-1. Eetu Luostarinen bagged his fourth goal of the playoffs at 14:55 of the final period, and the rout was on. Carolina scored a power-play goal, courtesy of Jackson Blake, cutting it to 5-2, but the only people affected were those who bet the Under on the alternate line of 6.5.

Blake's goal came on a penalty after Brad Marchand was ejected with a game misconduct penalty after mixing it up with Shayne Gostisbehere, who is, oddly enough, a Florida native. No further discipline is expected for Marchy, however.

Frederik Andersen, who entered the conference finals as the only goalie with a sub-2.00 goals-against average (GAA), was roughed up for five goals on just 20 shots, and he is now 7-3-0 with a 1.74 GAA and .919 save percentage. His GAA rose from 1.36 in just a single game as a result of the bad outing.

On the other side, Sergei Bobrovsky steered aside 31 of the 33 shots he faced to win for the fifth time in the past six games. After allowing four or more goals in each of the first three games of the Toronto series, Bob has allowed a total of just six goals in the past five outings, good for a 4-1-0 record, 1.21 GAA and .952 save percentage. He is locked in, and that's not great news for Carolina.

An ugly fact for Carolina is that it is now 0-13 in the past 13 tries in the conference finals round, including five straight losses to the Panthers in the playoffs. The Canes lost all four games in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals, albeit by one goal in each game of that series, including a 4OT loss in Game 1. Overtime was never a consideration in the opener of this series, though, as the Panthers delivered a sound beating.

Carolina outshot Florida by a 33-to-20 margin, while the Canes dished out 50 hits, to 47 for the Cats. Carolina also dominated with a 60.0 percent mark in the faceoff circle. However, the penalty kill was atrocious for the Canes, as Florida was 2-for-3 on the man advantage, so Carolina will need much more disciplined play to avoid that unit of the Panthers, which is humming along.

The Panthers also blocked 21 shots in Game 1, while the Hurricanes blocked 17. Luostarinen, who is having a great playoffs, led the way with four blocked shots despite being a forward, not a defenseman. Tomas Nosek and Evan Rodrigues each contributed two assists, showing off the team's depth, and Jonah Gadjovich dished out eight hits.

On the Carolina side, captain Jordan Staal was good for 10 hits, while Aho, Jordan Martinook and Jaccob Slavin led the team with three blocked shots apiece.

Looking at the moneyline for this game, it's hard to see the Hurricanes losing on home ice again, as Carolina is usually unbeatable at home. Its troubles generally start on the road. However, Game 1 was such a sound beating by the Panthers, it's hard to be a little impressed. These are the defending champs, and Carolina has dropped 13 straight games in the conference finals round. The last win for the Canes was in Game 7 in 2006 against the Buffalo Sabres in the ECF, and Logan Stankoven was 3, and Seth Jarvis was 4, getting picked up at preschool. So, yeah, it's been a while.

Let's back Florida, and we'll lean low with an alternate total play, as Andersen has to be better in Game 2.

Top NHL Prop Bets for Panthers vs Hurricanes Showdown

Looking at the props, if Carolina is going to have a measure of success, it needs Aho to get on the board. We'll play it safe and simply back him to notch a single point. On the flip side, we'll also take Barkov to grab at least one point.

The 23-year-old Jarvis has four or more shots on goal in each of the past three playoff games, so backing him to get 3+ SOG (60 minutes) is a strong play, too.