Saves off cycle, defenseman leaders in offensive zone time among key advanced metrics
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NHL.com’s fantasy staff continues to cover the latest trends and storylines in the League through the lens of NHL EDGE puck and player tracker stats. Today, we preview the Eastern Conference Final series between the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers.
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The Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers are set to meet in the Eastern Conference Final for the second time in the past three seasons.
Florida swept Carolina in the 2023 conference finals with all four games decided by one goal. Carolina and Florida finished the regular season with the same number of wins (47 each) and ranked first and second, respectively, in shots on goal differential per game (Hurricanes: plus-6.8; Panthers: plus-5.4).
This is a matchup of possession-oriented offenses and veteran goalies, along with plenty of skaters with strong underlying numbers. Here are three key advanced stats insights entering the Hurricanes-Panthers series:
The Hurricanes and Panthers are the top two teams in offensive zone time percentage (Carolina: 46.6; Florida: 45.0) this postseason and the two best remaining teams in 5-on-5 shot attempts percentage (Hurricanes: 58.4; Panthers: 56.0), illustrating each team’s puck possession dominance. In terms of the offensive zone time percentage leaders for the entire 2025 postseason, the Hurricanes and Panthers are each well-represented in the top 10:
1. Shayne Gostisbehere, D, CAR (53.4)
4. Andrei Svechnikov, F, CAR (49.6)
5. Jackson Blake, F, CAR (49.6)
6. Carter Verhaeghe, F, FLA (49.6)
8. Sean Walker, D, CAR (49.1)
9. Matthew Tkachuk, F, FLA (48.8)
10. Jesperi Kotkaniemi, F, CAR (48.7)
NHL EDGE IQ, powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS), uses “Ice Tilt” to estimate the territorial momentum one team has (and by what margin) at any given point during game play. The Hurricanes (12:49; first) and Panthers (11:24; second) were the top two teams in average time with tilt per regulation period during this regular season and also in the second round of the playoffs (Hurricanes averaged 12:22 per period in five games against Washington Capitals; Panthers averaged 12:19 per period in seven games against Toronto Maple Leafs).
The Panthers (11; first) and Hurricanes (eight; tied for second) are each among the leaders in goals scored by defensemen this postseason; Florida (24.4 percent) and Carolina (23.5) have the highest percentages of their team’s goals scored by defensemen.
Defenseman Aaron Ekblad, who served parts of two suspensions this postseason, leads the entire NHL in offensive zone time percentage at even strength (50.4). Gostisbehere, who was the League leader in offensive zone time percentage (all strengths) during the regular season (51.3), has seven points (three goals, four assists) in 10 games this postseason, including five on the power-play (tied for second at position in playoffs). The Panthers have three defensemen who have scored multiple goals this postseason (Nate Schmidt, Seth Jones: three each; Ekblad: two), while the Hurricanes have two (Gostisbehere: three; Jaccob Slavin: two).
Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen stopped 30 of 31 high-danger shots faced in five games against the Washington Capitals in the second round and leads the NHL in high-danger save percentage (.923) this postseason. Panthers starter Sergei Bobrovsky, by comparison, has an .817 high-danger save percentage this postseason (10th in NHL) but led the League in that category last postseason (.843; minimum five games), when Florida won their first-ever Stanley Cup.
Andersen also leads goalies from the remaining playoff teams in percent of games with greater than a .900 save percentage (77.8; seven of nine games). Bobrovsky has the best goal differential (plus-16) among goalies this postseason, slightly ahead of Andersen (plus-15).
Per NHL EDGE IQ, powered by AWS, Andersen has excelled against opponent shots on goal attempted off the cycle (offensive zone save percentage; excludes inferenced shot attempts coming within five seconds of crossing the opposing blue line). Andersen leads the League by a wide margin in save percentage against these shot types (.968), with Bobrovsky ranking second in the category (.908). Inferenced shot attempts exclude shots greater than 60 feet, those beyond the goal line and empty-net attempts.
Read more: EDGE stats behind Andersen’s playoff success
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EDGE stats team comparison: CAR vs. FLA
FLA vs. CAR | EDM vs. DAL
FLA vs. TOR | CAR vs. WSH | DAL vs. WPG | EDM vs. VGK
OTT vs. TOR | FLA vs. TBL | MTL vs. WSH | NJD vs. CAR
STL vs. WPG | COL vs. DAL | MIN vs. VGK | EDM vs. LAK
