Hurricanes vs. Panthers NHL Eastern Conference Finals Game 4 odds, trends: Florida taking solid action to complete sweep, Aleksander Barkov will play

The Florida Panthers have never swept an opponent in franchise playoff history but can accomplish that feat tonight in Game 4 of the NHL's Eastern Conference Finals against the Carolina Hurricanes and reach their second-ever Stanley Cup Finals. The Panthers are -115 favorites at BetMGM and taking solid action to end the series. The two most popular player props for the game are on Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk.

Florida, a wild card team, also had a chance to sweep Toronto in the last round but lost 2-1 at home before eliminating the Maple Leafs in Game 5 on the road. Teams that hold a 3-0 lead in a best-of-seven Stanley Cup Playoffs round own an all-time series record of 200-4 (.980), including a 46-0 in the semifinals. Carolina is 0-5 all-time when trailing a series 3-0. 

At the book, 63% of the bets and 70% of the money are on the Panthers to win. For the total of 5.5 goals, 76% of the bets and 89% of the money are on the Under.

The Panthers are poised to join the 2021 Canadiens and 2017 Predators as the third team in the NHL's expansion era (since 1967-68) to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals after entering the postseason as the league's lowest-ranked team. The Panthers would be the first club to enter the playoffs as the lowest-seeded team and sweep a best-of-7 series to clinch a berth in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Panthers winger and captain Aleksander Barkov will be in the lineup for Game 4 after leaving the first period of Game 3 with a lower-body injury. He centers Florida's top line and has 12 points in 15 playoff games after posting 23 goals and 55 assists in the regular season.

Florida's Tkachuk is currently a +350 second favorite behind goaltender teammate Sergei Bobrovsky (+180) to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, and Tkachuk as tonight's first goal scorer (+900) and Over 1.5 points (+145) are taking heavy action. He has two goals and an assist in the series and seven goals with 12 helpers in these playoffs.

Carolina's Sebastian Aho also is taking strong action on two props: first goal scorer (+1050) and Over 2.5 shots (-120). Aho hasn't scored in the series but has topped the shots total in two of the three games.

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