The Florida Panthers are the class of the NHL.

Immediately after the Cats clinched the Stanley Cup last summer, they opened as the betting favourite to repeat as champions this summer at FanDuel.

Fast-forward nearly one full year later, the Panthers are seven wins away from successfully defending their crown.

While it’s been an unprecedented season in terms of the sheer number of teams that have had a turn as the top choice in FanDuel’s Stanley Cup winner market, Florida is once again the favourite to win it all this morning.

Here’s a scary thought to consider.

Are the Panthers getting stronger as the Stanley Cup Playoffs progress?

Believe it or not, Florida was considered an underdog to win Game 1 in Carolina at FanDuel.

After a dominant 5-2 victory on the road, the Panthers odds to win the Eastern Conference Final shifted all the way from -130 to -245 at FanDuel.

The current number represents a 71 per cent implied series win probability.

Can the Carolina Hurricanes find a way to bounce back and salvage a split on home ice to start the series?

Even with their backs already against the wall, I’m not convinced that Carolina deserves to be a -130 favourite for Game 2 on Thursday night.

Anybody who tailed my Morning Coffee best bets cashed Sergei Bobrovsky over 25.5 saves on Tuesday night and is in pretty good shape with plays on Florida to advance and Panthers -1.5 in the series.

Hopefully, we can build on the strong start and produce some similar results........

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