Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA – Photo by Icon sport

Florida Panthers vs New York Rangers Game 1: Eastern Conference Finals

The New York Rangers and the Florida Panthers are starting the Eastern Conference Finals Series tonight in Madison Square Garden.

 

The Panthers have proven they can win on the road

The Florida Panthers are rock solid this season, cruising past their opponents in the first two rounds of the playoffs. Every hockey fan was excited about the Panthers playing their local rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning, in the opening round, but the Panthers were so dominant they went through five games. Next in line were the Boston Bruins, and the Panthers’ dominance continued. They won three games on the road in Boston and closed out the series in six games. Matthew Tkachuk has been the best player on the Panthers team so far in the playoffs with 14 points, and Aleksandar Barkov added 13.

 

Is this the season for the Rangers?

The New York Rangers finished the regular season with the best record in the league and took that form to the playoffs. They blew away the Washington Capitals in four games in the opening round. In the second, the Rangers face the Carolina Hurricanes, the team that was seen as the main favorite to win the Stanley Cup at that point. They started excellent, winning the first three games, but then lost the next two. The Hurricanes had a chance to tie the series at home, but the Rangers showed up ready and moved on with a 5-3 win. Mika Zibanejad and Vincent Trocheck lead the Rangers with 14 points each, and Chris Kreider has scored seven goals so far in the playoffs.

 

Betting Trends

The Rangers have won 10 of the last 12 games overall, 6 of the last 7 home games, 8 of the last 10 games against teams from the Eastern Conference and 5 of the last 7 games against the Panthers. New York has played over the total goal line in 5 of their last 7 games overall, 18 of the last 19 games against the Panthers, including 9 of the last 10 against them at home. The Panthers have won 12 of the last 15 games overall, 4 of the last 5 games in the road and 4 of the last 5 games against teams from the Eastern Conference. Florida has played over the total goal line in 6 of the last 9 games overall.

 

Prediction and Conclusion

Both the Rangers and the Panthers have waited a long time for a chance to move to the Stanley Cup finals, and they both look ready for the challenge. They were pretty dominant in the first two rounds of the playoffs. The Rangers were very tough at home, but if there is one team that can win on the road, it is the Panthers. Both teams are very aggressive, and they will change nothing going into the conference finals. The fact that these two have gone over the total goal line in 18 of their last 19 games means that we are going with over 5.5 goals for tonight’s game.