Carolina Hurricanes vs. Florida Panthers Game 4: Picks, Predictions, Odds and Player Props

The Florida Panthers have turned the Eastern Conference Finals series against the Carolina Hurricanes into a procession and are now just one game away from their third successive Stanley Cup Final appearance.

After winning game one on the road, the Panthers emphasised their superiority with a shutout win in Game 2, and although Saturday's Game 3 was close for two periods, Florida's power told in the end to put them on the brink.

The Hurricanes backs are right against the wall and they must improve massively in Monday's Game 4 to stand any chance of taking this series any further.

Carolina Hurricanes vs. Florida Panthers Game 4 betting picks and predictions

Florida Panthers -1.5 (+135)

The Panthers are understandable favorites at -180 to take the win and progress, given they have home-ice advantage for Game 4, but why stop there? Florida won Games 1 and 2 at the Lenovo Center by an aggregate score of 10-2, and followed that up with a 6-2 win at Amerant Bank Arena.

True, it was tied going into the third period but a game lasts 60 minutes and Carolina has not shown an ability to stop the Florida juggernaut for long enough so far. The Panthers have scored at least five goals in each of the three games, while the Hurricanes have scored only four goals in the entire series.

An argument could be made that Rob Brind'Amour's men will be more desperate knowing their season is on the line but that should have been the case already for a Conference Finals series, even more so having lost the home opener, and tripled down going into Game 3 on the road such is the rarity of overturning a 3-0 deficit - but it has not been the case, or at least if it was, Florida has had all the answers.

Carolina made short work of the New Jersey Devils and Washington Capitals, winning both series 4-1, but they were perfect at home with each of those losses coming on the road. The fact that the Panthers won both games so comfortably in Raleigh suggests that the Hurricanes are outmatched against the defending Stanley Cup champions, and it is difficult seeing anything changing on Monday night.

The Hurricanes have struggled away from their Lenovo fortress for some time, relatively speaking, as they lost more than they won on the road in the regular season (16-21-4) and they have not shown they have the tools to beat Florida, with or without the puck.

Throw into the mix that Brind'Amour has already changed his goaltender in the series, and it is not yet clear who will be in net on Monday night. 

Frederik Andersen leads the way in the playoffs with a 2.01 goals against average but he allowed five goals from 20 shots in Game 1 and was pulled after allowing four goals from 16 in Game 2. Pyotr Kochetkov still let in one from only five shots when replacing Andersen in that game, but given the start on Saturday, he hardly fared better as the Panthers stuck six past him from 28 shots.

Neither will be particularly confident on the evidence of the first three games with Florida scoring plenty without having to work too hard, and the hosts can do so again to wrap up the series sweep.

Aaron Ekblad over 0.5 points (-110)

Goals for the home side are expected and Aaron Ekblad looks an appealing price to contribute in some way, continuing a very solid postseason so far.  

The 29-year-old registered another assist on Saturday night to take his tally for the series to three after providing two in the shutout win in Game 2. Ekblad also scored in the Game 1 victory and has now registered three goals and seven assists in the playoffs.

The top-line defenseman, who is also likely to get some powerplay time, has scored at least one point in eight of 11 games in the playoffs so far, and can extend his pointscoring streak to four games on Monday night.

Sebastian Aho over 2.5 shots (+128)

Staring down the barrel of another sweep, the Hurricanes - who lost 4-0 to Florida at this stage in 2023 - should be doing all they can to chalk up a first win and take the series back to Carolina on Wednesday.

Although they are not expected to achieve that goal, it should not be for a lack of effort and they need to get their big guns firing at some point, and very soon.

Sebastian Aho should be front and center of those wanting to contribute as an alternate captain and he is likely to get plenty of game time both at even strength and on the powerplay.

Such is Carolina's position in the series that they simply have to work Sergei Bobrovsky more and Aho looks appealing at +128 to let off at least three shots on goal. While he only totaled three shots across the last two games, he did fire six on goal in the Game 1 defeat in which he also scored, while he has gone over the 2.5 tally in six of 13 games in the playoffs.

In a win or go home situation, he is not likely to pass up shooting opportunities too often as he looks to finally make his mark on the series and keep his team alive.

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Carolina Hurricanes vs. Florida Panthers Game 4 odds

CAR Hurricanes	+160 ML
FLA Panthers	-190 ML
Puck Line	FLA -1.5 (+135)
Total	O/U 5.5

Carolina Hurricanes vs. Florida Panthers Game 4 player props

Anytime Goalscorer

Matthew Tkachuk (FLA Panthers)	+165
Sam Bennett (FLA Panthers)	+210
Aleksander Barkov (FLA Panthers)	+210
Carter Verhaeghe (FLA Panthers)	+210
Sebastian Aho (CAR Hurricanes)	+250
Seth Jarvis (CAR Hurricanes)	+250

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.