Panthers Draw First Blood in Visit Against Rangers
Panthers vs Rangers Game 1 Preview Sees Florida Favored

The New York Rangers will try to continue their dominance on home ice when they open the Eastern Conference Final against the Florida Panthers in Game 1 on Wednesday. The Panthers vs Rangers Game 1 odds have the visitors as slight favorites at -115. The total is set at 5.5.
New York is 4-1 at MSG in the playoffs and has a +3 goals-for advantage in its five home games in the playoffs. This dominance comes on the heels of the Rangers’ exceptional regular season at home, where they went 30-11.
Still, the Rangers, who won the Presidents’ Trophy with 114 regular-season points, will have their work cut out for them against the Panthers, the reigning Eastern Conference champs. Florida is 8-3 in the playoffs and has won four of five road games, including each of its three at TD Garden during its six-game series win over the Boston Bruins.
The Eastern Conference Final will pit the division winner from the Metropolitan and Atlantic. It should be a whale of a series.
Here’s the outlook for Panthers vs Rangers Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final.
Florida Panthers vs New York Rangers 
Records: Florida Panthers (60-27-6), New York Rangers (63-25-4)
Day/Time:
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Streaming: ESPN, ESPN+
Setting the Tone
Winning Game 1 is of paramount importance for reaching the Stanley Cup Final, especially for the Panthers. Teams that win Game 1 of a best-of-7 series win 68% percent of those all-time, and teams that have lost Game 1 on the road have won just 24.9% of all best-of-7 postseason series.
The Rangers lost their last home game, 4-1, to the Hurricanes in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Second Round, and the Panthers are the slight Game 1 favorite. However, the Rangers have been unstoppable in Game 1s. New York has won four straight Game 1s, and three in a row on home ice, dating back to 2022.
The Panthers are 1-1 in Game 1s this playoff year, though each came on home ice. Florida is 3-5 in Game 1s over the past three postseasons but has won six of its past eight postseason series.
Despite the trends and New York’s dominance in Game 1s, Florida has proven it can win at Madison Square Garden. The Panthers went 1-0-1 at MSG during the regular season and won two of the three regular-season meetings, which snapped New York’s recent dominance over Florida over the past three seasons.
The Rangers have still won six of the teams’ past nine meetings, even though Florida went 2-0-1 in the head-to-heads this season.
Even Steven
Despite their relatively similar regular-season point totals, the Panthers and Rangers play entirely different styles, especially during the playoffs.
Florida Panthers is one of the best 5-on-5 teams in the league and boasts the third-best Corsi-For percentage (54.43%) and a plus-7 even-strength goal differential. The Panthers also lead the NHL in even-strength Shots-For percentage (55.16) during the playoffs.
The Rangers have reached the third round on the back of their dominant special teams and have been a mediocre-at-best team at 5-on-5. New York, which had the third-best power play during the regular season, has the third-best power play in the playoffs (31.4%) and the second-best PK percentage (89.6), adding four short-handed goals, the most in the league.
But New York has a minus-2 even-strength goal differential in the postseason and is 13th among playoff teams in 5-on-5 Corsi-For percentage (45.8) and 47.25 Expected Goals percentage, the 12th-best mark of the 16-team field.
So the Rangers will likely need goalie Igor Shesterkin to dominate again to upset the defending Eastern Conference champs. Shesterkin is fifth in the NHL in goals-saved above average (2.51) and a .928 save% at 5-on-5.
Stars Required
These are two of the most star-laden lineups in the NHL. Aleksander Barkov is the Selke Trophy winner, Sergey Bobrovsky is a Vezina Trophy finalist and Sam Reinhart finished second in goals (57).
But the Rangers are loaded with high-end talent, led by Shesterkin, the 2022 Vezina winner and a Hart Trophy finalist, and Adam Fox, the 2021 Norris Trophy winner. Chris Kreider put the Rangers on his back, scoring a hat trick in the deciding Game 6 against the Hurricanes, and shares the team lead in playoff points with Vincent Trocheck (14).
The Rangers stars get more recognition, playing in the biggest market in the United States, but Florida’s stars are no less exceptional. Matthew Tkachuk is leading the Panthers in points (14) and is the type to get under the skin of New York’s key players.
Carter Verhaeghe is a budding star too. He has 19 goals over the past three postseasons. Brandon Montour is a minutes eater, leading Florida in average time on ice (23:14) while chipping in eight points.
Depth may come into play since goals can come from anywhere this time of the year. But the stars will decide this series, especially in Game 1, which will make player-prop betting a fun exercise in the Eastern Conference Final.
Prediction
Making NHL picks is tricky, but the Panthers have been exceptional on the road. Look for them to steal home-ice advantage.
Panthers 3, Rangers 2
For NHL scores, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.