Panthers lineup tonight: Florida’s projected lineup for Game 2 against the Carolina Hurricanes | Stanley Cup Playoffs, Conference Finals, May 22, 2025

The Florida Panthers will look to build momentum on their Game 1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes and steal Thursday's Game 2 on the road. After a big Game 7 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on the road, the reigning Stanley Cup champs rode plenty of momentum into their conference finals series with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Following a 6-1 win over the Maple Leafs in Game 7, Florida picked up where they left off on Tuesday in Game 1, beating Carolina 5-2 as Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad, AJ Greer, Eetu Luostarinen and Carter Verhaeghe all found the back of the net.

If the team is able to steal another game on the road on Thursday, we could be looking at a potential closeout scenario in Game 4.

Florida Panthers projected lines

Forwards

Evan Rodrigues - Aleksander Barkov - Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe - Sam Bennett - Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen - Anton Lundell - Brad Marchand
AJ Greer - Tomas Nosek - Jonah Gadjovich

Defense

Gustav Forsling - Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola - Seth Jones
Nate Schmidt - Dmitry Kulikov

Goalies

Sergei Bobrovsky
Vitek Vanecek

Powerplay

Matthew Tkachuk, Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart, Seth Jones, Aaron Ekblad
Brad Marchand, Sam Bennett, Evan Rodrigues, Carter Verhaeghe, Nate Schmidt

Penalty Kill

Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen, Gustav Forsling, Aaron Ekblad
Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart, Niko Mikkola, Seth Jones

Looking at the odds for tonight's game between the Panthers and the Hurricanes

Heading into Thursday's game between the Panthers and the Hurricanes, Carolina is sitting as a slight betting favorite despite the fact that the team came up short in Game 1, and is the betting underdog in this best-of-seven series.

Currently, Carolina is a -130 favorite on FanDuel while Florida is a +108 underdog. Meanwhile, over on DraftKings, Carolina is a -130 favorite while Florida is a +110 underdog.

Based on the latest DraftKings lines, it would take a $130 bet on Carolina as the favorite to win $100, while a $100 bet on Florida as the underdog could win $110 if the Panthers emerge victorious.

Note: Payout figures only reflect profit, and don't include winning back the original bet with a successful wager.

Following Game 2 on Thursday, the series will head to Florida for Game 3 on Saturday, and Game 4 on Monday. If a Game 5 is needed, it will be played on Wednesday, May 28 in Carolina.

About the author

Evan Bell is a journalist specializing in the NBA and NHL at Sportskeeda, whose love for the game stems from a childhood spent watching the Chicago Bulls. He has been there through their highs and lows, from the Jordan era to the exciting Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah years.

Evan finds the 82-game season and the intensity of playoff basketball exhilarating, and he also revels in the offseason drama. Phil Jackson stands out as his favorite coach, whom he admires for his composed leadership and success in managing dynamic personalities like Dennis Rodman.

To deliver top-quality content, Evan fact-checks information while diligently keeping up with the action year-round.

When he's not writing, Evan follows tennis and Greek football, and also plays basketball and tennis.

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Edited by nagpaltusharn25