NHL: Florida Panthers vs NY Rangers East Finals betting preview

The Eastern Conference Finals are set. The Florida Panthers and the New York Rangers will battle it out, with a spot in the Stanley Cup on the line. The series will begin on Wednesday, May 22nd at Madison Square Garden. Florida finds themselves at this stage for the second year in a row after knocking off the Boston Bruins in six games in the second round. As for NY, they hammered the Carolina Hurricanes in six games as well. Below, we’ll discuss the head-to-head history and preview the series.

Head-to-head info

New York has had their way with the Panthers in recent memory, winning five of the last seven meetings. But, Florida won two of three in the 2023-24 season. Two of the meetings were also decided by just one goal, which means we could be in for a very entertaining series. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see it go the full seven games.

Florida Panthers

The Panthers made a Cinderella run to the Cup a year ago then only proceeded to be the best team in the Atlantic in 2023-24. Florida had a 52-24-6 record and was considered a contender early in the season. As you can see, that hasn’t changed. The Cats breezed past the Tampa Bay Lightning in round one before beating the Bruins for the second season in a row in the playoffs.

Paul Maurice’s squad is averaging 3.55 goals per game in the postseason while conceding only 2.45. The leading man has been Matthew Tkachuk, who has 14 goals, including four goals and 10 assists. Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe have 13 and 11 points, respectively, as well. Sam Reinhart only has nine points but he’s tallied the most shots of any Panthers player. It would be delightful if he came alive in this series.

New York is a strong group on the power play, so it will be important Florida can limit them with the man advantage. The Panthers are typically solid when it comes to stopping opponents on the PK and that also means Sergei Bobrovsky has to play well in net. He has a .902 save percentage in these playoffs. The Cats are a -147 series favorite at Bodog sportsbook.

New York Rangers

The Rangers won the Presidents’ Trophy, finishing the campaign with 114 points. It was a tremendous year for New York, but it won’t mean anything unless they go all the way. By the looks of it, the Rangers really could and they’ve been arguably the most dominant team in the playoffs.

Peter Laviolette’s squad ran through the Washington Capitals in round one, sweeping them in four games and holding Alex Ovechkin scoreless. They also made round two against the Hurricanes look pretty simple. New York took a 3-0 series lead before Carolina won two in a row. The Rangers put them away for good on Thursday though, winning 5-3.

There’s been a plethora of guys doing their part offensively. Mika Zibajenad and Vincent Trocheck are both sitting on 14 points, while Artemi Panarin has 11. Alexis Lafreniere, Chris Kreider, and Jack Roslovic are all chipping in, too. On both ends of the ice, this is a fundamentally sound team and although they’re an underdog in the series at NHL sportsbooks, the Rangers have all the ability to make it to the Cup.