Playoff Preview: Hurricanes vs Panthers

 The East Finals Are HERE! And I got both of my predictions for the semi-finals wrong!

Who predicted this? The Florida Panthers beat not only the best regular season team in NHL history, but then they dominate a Toronto Maple Leafs team that was expected to win the cup after Round One! They absolutely rolled over the Leafs, and they deserve their spot here in the east finals. For Carolina, many (including me) doubted their ability, but they have gotten over whatever scoring issues they had down the stretch, as they have absolutely killed it on offense in both Round One and Round Two. For these two teams, it's looking like they're going to be impossible to stop... but one of them will stop the other. Who?

For Florida, everything has gone right for them since Game 5 vs Boston. Matthew Tkachuk has been great, and though he didn't score against Toronto, he put up a lot of assists and currently has the 2nd most points among playoff players still in the playoffs. He single-handedly carried this Florida offense to the playoffs, and he's taken an even bigger step in it. Guys like Barkov have also done wonders for the Florida offense. But, the defense and goaltending has been the difference for the Cats. Guys like Ekblad and Montour are already making their presences known on the ice, and they managed to absolutely stymie the big group of forwards for the Leafs. But, of course, this is all not possible without Bobrovsky. Sergei Bobrovsky has the highest GSAx (9.3) among all playoff goalies, and has a really good .918 SV% as well. Bobrovsky in just this playoff run has made that contract almost worth it, and a final cup run would certainly make it entirely worth it. 

For Carolina, scoring was expected to be an issue. But, it wasn't. Their G% in these two series has been an incredible 57.14%, indicating that they are completely controlling play. Neither the Isles nor Devils have stood a chance, and especially in the Devils series, where the young team looked completely lost out there versus the experienced and better Canes. I am not ashamed to admit that I was wrong about these Canes. I thought that they would lose in Round One, and Round Two, but here they are. They have wiped away my main concern: scoring without Svech or Teuvo. Jesper Fast and Sebastian Aho have in particular stepped up for Carolina, with Fast scoring a few huge goals and Aho being a massive presence everywhere. Their defense, as expected has been really solid, and their PP has been lethal as well. All signs are pointing pro-Carolina. Even in net, Freddie has stepped up and been really good in these playoffs, and this team is a unit.


Prediction: Carolina in 7
Season Series: 2-1 Carolina

This series is going to be very dynamic, and I think Bobrovsky will force this to go the distance. He has been so good these playoffs, and if it comes down to it, he's really tough to beat. This could be a series where Carolina absolutely dominates most of the series, but it's always really close. Matthew Tkachuk will need to score, and a lot, for Florida to propel themselves through. This is very possible, and this crazy series no one expected is going to be extremely fun. But, I think Carolina goes through. 


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