Hurricanes vs. Panthers scores, schedule, odds, where to watch as Florida hammers Carolina 5-2 in Game 1

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The Florida Panthers have a 1-0 series lead over the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final. Just two days after winning Game 7 in Toronto in blowout fashion, the Panthers smothered the Hurricanes with a 5-2 win in Game 1.

As was to be expected, there wasn't much room for either team in this matchup. Still, the Panthers seemed to find a little more daylight in and around the net. That was certainly the case when Carter Verhaeghe opened the scoring for Florida.

With the Panthers on the power play, Verhaeghe got the puck in the low slot, went to his backhand and lifted a perfect shot over the shoulder of Frederik Andersen to give the Cats a 1-0 lead.

Verhaeghe finished with two points on the night, as did Evan Rodrigues, who assisted on Aaron Ekblad's first-period goal. Coming off a tremendous series against the Maple Leafs, Ekblad found the back of the net with a seed that rang off the post and in behind Andersen.

Throughout this playoff run, the Panthers have been getting contributions from up and down the lineup, and that was certainly the case on Tuesday night. A.J. Greer, Sam Bennett and Eetu Luostarinen added the other three tallies for Florida.

Despite the offensive outburst, the Panthers didn't need much offense in this one. Sergei Bobrovsky faced 33 shots from the Hurricanes, and he stopped 31 as he kept his run of elite form going.

On the other side of the ice, the Hurricanes had a hard time sustaining any kind of offense against the Panthers. Carolina's offense played well through the first two rounds, but neither of those teams (the Capitals and Devils) presented the kind of defensive challenge that Florida does.

Sebastian Aho scored the first goal for the Canes, and it came in somewhat controversial fashion. With under a minute left in the first period, Aho redirected the puck into the net with the back of his skate, and the goal was upheld after a review determined there was no distinct kicking motion.

That was as lively as the Lenovo Center would get on Tuesday night, and Andersen had an especially tough outing. The Hurricanes didn't play terrible defense. They surrendered only 20 shots on goal, but five of those beat Andersen.

The Canes have now lost 13 straight Eastern Conference Final games dating back to the 2009 playoffs. They will have the opportunity to end that streak in Game 2 on Thursday, but the Panthers may have something to say about that.

Eastern Conference Final schedule

All times Eastern

Hurricanes vs. Panthers odds

Odds via DraftKings

Series odds: Panthers -240, Hurricanes +200
Game 2 odds: Hurricanes -120, Panthers +100

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