Mark Lammey
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After a couple nights off, the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs are back in action. We had to wait for the Western Conference Finals to be set, but the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes have been patiently waiting for their Game 1 puck-drop. They’ll be featured at 8 PM ET on TNT. The Panthers have now knocked out two Original Six teams after sneaking into the postseason as the second Wild Card. Meanwhile, the Hurricanes have fought through injuries to get here. Rather than sweating out a winner between 2 great teams, we have our favorite player prop for tonight’s Game 1.
Along with our NHL player prop, be sure to check out all of our NHL picks for the upcoming Stanley Cup Playoff action.
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Brandon Montour over 0.5 assists (-115)
Before diving into our official play, we’d also recommend taking Florida’s Matthew Tkachuk to record an assist. After an MVP-caliber season with 109 points, he’s been leading the Panthers through these Stanley Cup Playoffs. While he’s come through for us often this year, we’re getting great value on a lesser-known skater. Montour may not get the attention of Tkachuk, but he’s been just as vital to the team’s success. His 73 points were tied for the third-most on the team. Similarly, he proved that he could perform against the stout defense of the Hurricanes.
In three regular season games against Carolina, Montour recorded three assists. With a team full of volume shooters, it makes sense that 57 of his 73 points were assists as well. Admittedly, he had a slow series against the Toronto Maple Leafs, but was incredible against the Boston Bruins, recording eight points in the series. As a defenseman, he’s virtually always on the ice. His 24:08 per game led Florida in the regular season, and he was on the ice for at least 29 minutes in each of their last 3 games against the Leafs last round. With so much time for opportunities and so much talent to capitalize, we’re looking for Montour to record an assist in Game 1.
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