The Carolina Hurricanes need to win on Monday to avoid being eliminated by the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference final.
The pregame narrative: The Panthers have outscored the Hurricanes 16-4 en route to a 3-0 series lead. Florida is now one win away from reaching a third straight Stanley Cup Final.
Check out my Hurricanes vs. Panthers prop picks on Aaron Ekblad and Brad Marchand for Game 4.
Hurricanes vs. Panthers picks
Best bet: Ekblad to score a point (-115)
The blue-liner continues to be a force for the Panthers in the postseason.
- 10 points in 11 playoff games
- 8-3 vs. this line
And offence seems to be plentiful for the Panthers in the series. They’ve scored over five goals per game so far.
Ekblad has tallied a point in all three games.
It’s not surprising since the veteran defenceman is playing over 20 minutes every night for a team that is currently scoring with ease.
Among 38 defencemen with 200-plus minutes in the playoffs, Ekblad’s on-ice Corsi per 60 (76.76) ranks third, per Natural Stat Trick.
Ekblad has another shot to get on the score sheet while the Panthers can eliminate the Hurricanes and punch their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final.
Key stat: Including the playoffs, Ekblad is 5-1 against this line vs. Carolina this year.
Game 4 prop prediction
Marchand to score a point (-115): Another Panther I’m interested in targeting is Marchand.
The midseason acquisition is showing his worth in the playoffs, scoring 13 points in 15 games.
He’s been rather quiet in this series, recording just one goal in three matchups. But since Sam Reinhart’s status is up in the air moving forward, there is a gap to fill on Florida’s offence.
And the third line, including Marchand, has been great all postseason. The former Boston Bruin scored in Reinhart’s first game out.
He’s 10-5 against this line in the playoffs.
Overall, Marchand is an excellent postseason performer. He has 151 points in 172 career playoff games.
Marchand has 12 even-strength points in these playoffs and should continue contributing in a consistently high-scoring offence.
Hurricanes vs. Panthers prop picks made at 9:31 a.m. ET 05/26/2025.
Spencer is a true sports junkie. A graduate of the Sports Journalism program at Centennial College, he first joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2023. He is now a contributing writer. He loves finding the edge to bet on in all sports but has a deep passion for the NBA and UFC. Previous stops include Sportsnet.