Best NHL Bets Today: Rangers Defense Poised to Shine

With the conclusion of the second round, four teams remain in the battle for the Stanley Cup. The Conference Finals kick off with the Eastern Conference when the Florida Panthers hit the road to play the New York Rangers in game one of their series. Both teams have made a strong case to be here with both taking care of business in six games against the Boston Bruins and Carolina Hurricanes. On top of our best bet, also be sure to check out our player props piece for this game for some added excitement in game one of the series.

As for where to wager on the NHL Conference Finals, the FanDuel sportsbook has been the front runner for the league as they routinely put out lines before everyone else as well as at very favorable odds when compared to the rest of the mobile sportsbooks. If you have not signed up yet with the FanDuel sportsbook and are looking to get in on the action, you can claim $150 in bonus bets for simply creating an account and winning your first bet of at least $5 wagered. Be sure to wager the $5 on a heavy favorite immediately after signing up, maximizing your chances of winning and collecting the $150 in bonus bets.

Florida Panthers vs. New York Rangers - Game 1 (8:00 PM, EST)

Panthers Team Total Under 2.5 Goals (+100) at FanDuel

The Florida Panthers may have skated past the Boston Bruins in six games, but it was hardly as convincing as the series record indicates. In fact, game six actually favored the Bruins as they finished the contest ahead in Expected Goals 2.81 to Florida’s 2.36. Anton Lundell’s goal to tie the game in the second period clocked in at 0.08, drastically altering the course of the game with a low quality goal getting past Swayman.

Minus a few lackluster Boston offensive performances, the Panthers actually struggled to generate offensive success against the Bruins defense. Jeremy Swayman is arguably one of the best goalies in the league and now the Panthers have to try and find success against a goalie not too far off from him with Igor Shesterkin manning the net for the Rangers.

Shesterkin comes into the contest with a Save Percentage of 0.923 and an Average Goals Against per Game of 2.40. He has only improved during the course of the playoffs as he finished the regular season with a Save Percentage of 0.913 and a Goals Against per Game average of 2.58.

Outside of Matthew Tkachuk and Kevin Stenlund, no one on the Florida Panthers generated an Expected Goals over 0.300. Both Gustav Forsling and Anton Lundell managed to finish with over four Shots on Goal a piece, but came from low quality scoring opportunities. Factor in Sam Reinhart no-showing in their last outing and the Panthers come into game one of the Eastern Conference Finals with minimal offensive momentum.

The full game under was tempting to take the spot as the best bet but the Rangers offense has been red hot and are more than capable of finding success against the Panthers Sergei Bobrovsky. That turns my attention towards the Panthers team total under instead as their offense is poised to continue to underwhelm against another tough defensive unit.

Bet on Under 2.5 Goals (+100) at FanDuel