Florida Panthers vs. New York Rangers: Prediction and Analysis
Game 1 set for Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden
Panthers enter as slight favorites
The Florida Panthers and New York Rangers will face off in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. The Panthers are a -113 favorite on the moneyline, while the Rangers are a +102 underdog.
The Panthers are coming off a sweep of the Washington Capitals in the second round, while the Rangers upset the Carolina Hurricanes in seven games. This will be the first meeting between the two teams since the 1996 Eastern Conference Finals, which the Panthers won in five games.
The Panthers are led by Aleksander Barkov, who had 10 points in the second round. Jonathan Huberdeau and Sam Bennett also had strong performances for the Panthers in the second round.
The Rangers are led by Artemi Panarin, who had 11 points in the second round. Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider also had strong performances for the Rangers in the second round.
The Rangers will be playing in front of their home crowd for Game 1, but the Panthers have won two of the three meetings between the two teams this season.
Prediction
The Panthers are the slight favorites in this series, but the Rangers have shown that they are a dangerous team. This is a tough series to predict, but I think the Panthers will ultimately win in seven games.
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