A familiar Eastern Conference Finals matchup with the Cats and Canes meeting for the second time in three years.
Not a great deal has changed since these two met a few seasons ago, at least from a Carolina standpoint. The Hurricanes remain a stingy, defensive-minded team, while the Panthers have grown into an offensive juggernaut behind a redeveloped forecheck and some elite play from Sergei Bobrovsky at times.
The Panthers are the more trustworthy of the two sides after winning it all last year, and after piling on the goals in Game 7 in Toronto on Monday, it feels like they are just as locked in as they were 12 months ago.
On the other side, the Canes are the firm underdog that is out to prove everyone wrong. They have the rest advantage heading into the opening game on home ice, but whether that proves a hindrance against a well-rounded Panthers team is a fair argument.
Florida can score goals in a flurry, but they remain an impressive defensive outfit behind Alexander Barkov, Sam Reinhart, and Gustav Forsling. Overall, I think this series could go the distance, but I’ll happily take the Cats with momentum on their side heading into Game 1.