For the second straight series, the Florida Panthers will have the chance to sweep one of the best teams in the NHL on home ice.
It’s hard to believe that a team that was down 3-1 to the record-setting Boston Bruins in Round 1 would be in this position, but the Stanley Cup Playoffs have a way of going ultimately off the rails, and this has been a tournament for the ages.
So now it’s up to the Carolina Hurricanes to try and throw another wrench into the script.
Can the Canes, who are now +850 to win the series, take the first step towards a monumental comeback on Wednesday night?
Hurricanes vs. Panthers pick
(8 p.m. ET)
There are a number of great storylines for the Panthers, but there’s no question that the star of this surprising run has been Sergei Bobrovsky.
The Russian netminder is now the Conn Smythe favorite at +225 thanks to his red-hot run of form.
Bobrovsky is coming off a shutout victory in Game 3, has allowed just three goals on 135 shots (.978 SV%) against Carolina and has a +11.6 Goals Saved Above Expected (GSAx) in this series.
Those numbers are unbelievable, but also likely unsustainable.
Perhaps Bobrovsky stays scorching for the rest of the postseason, but it’s hard to bet on that being the case.
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And the underlying story with Bobrovsky’s eye-popping numbers is that it’s a bit of an indictment on the Panthers defensively.
If your goaltender is standing on his head night after night, it means you’re probably giving up too many scoring chances.
It may feel a bit counter-intuitive to look at the over 5.5 with Bobrovsky flying and the Hurricanes playing well defensively, while struggling to find the back of the net, but with the Canes needing to play on the front foot from the drop of the puck, this game could be wide open and it’s unlikely that we’ll see the over get bet out of range.
Hurricanes vs. Panthers prediction
Over 5.5 goals (+100, BetRivers)