Do the Panthers complete the sweep?
“Hope alone is not helpful – action and consequences are critical.” So goes a famous quote and it applies more than ever to the Canes in our Florida Panthers vs. Carolina Hurricanes tip for Game 4 of the series.
Because hope won’t be enough for them, they need to score once in a while. A mere three goals in three games is a score that is simply sub-par. In the regular season they still scored 3.20 goals per game and in the playoffs they are still averaging 3.07 goals.
To date, however, they have completely lost their scoring instinct in this series, due in part, of course, to the strong form of Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who turned away all 32 shots on his box on Monday. Meanwhile, he stands at a save percentage of 93.5% in the postseason.
Since Frederik Andersen of the Canes is also in good form at the moment, our forecast for Florida vs. Carolina for Game 4 is another low-scoring game. The outcome is completely open, whereby we can imagine that the Canes will also have the better end for themselves.
First face-off of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final series is again in Florida on Thursday night at 02:00. The game can be watched live on Sky or NHL.TV.
Florida Panthers – Statistics & current form
The south of the USA is the epicentre of success in these Stanley Cup Playoffs. In the middle of it all are the Florida Panthers, who are at home in the Miami metropolitan area – which means that this region will provide a participant in both the NHL Finals and the NBA Finals.
At least that’s what it looks like at the moment, because it’s unlikely that either team will let a 3-0 lead slip away. In the NHL, it has only happened four times that a team lost in the end after leading 3:0.
Tkachuk line very strong
In Game 3 it was once again the forward line around Mathew Tkachuk that provided the decision. This time on the power play with an assist from Sam Reinhart. Tkachuk now has 19 scoring points in this postseason and is also attacking the lead in this list once again.
We now expect him and his line to cause big problems for the Hurricanes again in Game 4. So for Panthers vs Canes, a bet on a Tkachuk goal is our first trivial betting recommendation.
Otherwise, however, it will once again be a case of defence being the trump card on Wednesday. We’re seeing a full three hits on average in this series, making betting on subpar points in this matchup an even more playable option.
Do the Panthers catch a break?
It would be very good for Florida if they could now put the lid on it at home in Game 4, because then they would have a longer break before the Stanley Cup Finals. Otherwise, they’d have to travel to Carolina again, possibly bringing the Canes back into the series mentally.
Still, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise if the series continued, as the Canes again had a clear edge in shots on goal on Monday. The score was 32:17 per Carolina and at some point this superiority will be reflected in the result.
Since win bets still represent a somewhat greater risk given the balance of this matchup (even if the 0:3 tells a different story), the odds on under 5.5 goals are our favourite betting option for Panthers vs. Canes.
Key Players:
G: Sergei Bobrovsky
D: Gustav Forsling
D: Radko Gudas
LW: Carter Verhaeghe
C: Aleksander Barkov
RW: Sam Reinhart
Carolina Hurricanes – Statistics & current form
Was this it already for the Hurricanes? It looks like the Canes will have to bury their dream of the Stanley Cup Finals again this year. A 0:3 is already a hard mortgage, even if the games were much closer than this 0:3 now says.
They have given up 32 more shots on goal in this series so far, which is an incredible number. In total, there were 135 shots on goal in three games – they only scored three times! That’s a hit rate of 2.22% – catastrophic is putting it mildly.
Efficiency non-existent
Of course, Panthers goalie Bobrovsky has been very strong so far, but still: That alone cannot explain such a rate. There is a complete lack of confidence in the offensive end and Sebastian Aho is the best example of this.
With 36 goals in the regular season, he actually played a very good season, but as soon as it comes to the Panthers, his scoring ability vanishes into thin air. He has already scored 13 times in this series.
Defence as last chance
At least their defence continues to stand up well. They are also allowing only 2.0 goals per game in this series, which should normally be easily enough for a win or two. This strength is also the only thing that can still give them some hope.
If they finally score 2-3 goals up front on Wednesday, then an away win in Game 4 is quite possible. Since we are again assuming a low-scoring game, they simply have to manage to score that one more goal.
In this respect, the betting odds for the forecast on Under 2.5 Panthers goals are also an option for Florida vs. Carolina. After all, the Canes defence only allowed 17 shots on goal in Game 3. If they manage to do that again, a lot would have to come together for them to allow more than those 2.5 goals.
Key Players:
G: Frederik Andersen
D: Jaccob Slavin
D: Brent Burns
LW: Stefan Noesen
C: Sebastian Aho
RW: Seth Jarvis
Florida Panthers – Carolina Hurricanes Direct comparison / H2H balance
What good are all their good results against Florida in previous years, or even their playoff success in 2020, to the Hurricanes if they are now down 3-0 in the series. They can buy absolutely nothing from their total of 32 more shots on goal either.
The momentum is on the Panthers’ side and the Canes’ first task now is to get it back at least a little bit. Then they can look from game to game, or even goal to goal for a start.
Because after more than 120 minutes without a goal (last goal in the 2nd minute of Game 2), a goal is the first step. They should be able to take that step on Wednesday. However, since we again don’t expect many total goals, a prediction on subpar points is one of our preferred betting options for Florida vs. Carolina.
Florida Panthers – Carolina Hurricanes Tip
It wasn’t a weak game for the Canes in Game 3, but they still didn’t score a single goal. In general, such low-scoring series are of course very much determined by match luck and efficiency, and Carolina has neither at the moment.
Therefore, it is difficult to predict a win for Game 4. That’s why a bet on under 5.5 total points is our No.1 bet for Panthers vs. Hurricanes, because with an average of only 3.0 goals, this mark should most probably not be exceeded.
Alternatively, we can still combine these sub-point bets with a Canes win. They will give it their all one more time, as otherwise they will have to go on holiday. And since the odds on them are also higher than on Florida, we can take a strong value with it.
