This article is part of our NHL Picks series.
NHL Bets Tonight: Expert NHL Picks and Props for Panthers 
at Hurricanes 
The Panthers (45-17-4) and the Hurricanes (39-20-6) meet Thursday night at PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, and the game can be viewed on ESPN+.
The Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes were both very active at the NHL trade deadline, bolstering their rosters for what they each hope is another deep run into the playoffs. These teams met last spring in the Eastern Conference Finals, with Florida winning all four games, each by a single goal.
The Panthers scooped up Kyle Okposo from the Buffalo Sabres in a captain trade, while also moving to add veteran forward Vladimir Tarasenko to improve an already potent offense.
The Hurricanes made a couple of huge splashes, including perhaps the biggest fish in the deadline trade pond, acquiring Jake Guentzel from the Pittsburgh Penguins. They also made a surprise move to grab veteran Evgeny Kuznetsov from the Washington Capitals, giving the team some much-needed pop heading into the postseason.
This is turning into quite the rivalry. The Hurricanes won two of the three regular-season meetings last season by a 10-7 margin, while the Panthers had the last laugh with a four-game sweep in the ECF, although it was by a 10-6 margin, with all four games decided by a single goal, including an epic Game 1 which went to four overtimes.
This season, Florida maintained its mastery in the series with a 5-2 win in Sunrise as a slight underdog (+125), but Carolina returned the favor with a 1-0 win on Feb. 22 as a home favorite (-115). Sebastian Aho was the hero with a goal with 19 ticks left in regulation to make a winner of Pyotr Kochetkov, who stopped all 45 shots he faced. Sergei Bobrovsky was the unlucky loser after turning aside 28 of the 29 shots he faced.
Florida enters play with eight wins in the past nine games, while going 14-2-0 across the past 16 outings. But one of those losses was that 1-0 setback in Raleigh in late February. Carolina was on the short end of a 1-0 score against the New York Rangers last time out, but they're a respectable 5-2-0 across the past seven outings.
The lean here is to Florida, as it just seems to have Carolina's number, but expect it to be super close, as usual.
NHL Money Line Bets for Panthers at Hurricanes
- Panthers ML (+106 at FanDuel)
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Looking to the totals, the Panthers offense has been on fire lately, going for four or more goals in six of the past seven outings, and it's no surprise the Over is 4-2-1 in the seven-game span. Again, though, the last time it visited Carolina, the Florida juggernaut was blanked, the first shutout loss since Dec. 14 in Vancouver.
Speaking of getting blanked, the Hurricanes posted a goose egg against the New York Rangers last time out, which was a stark contrast to the game before on Sunday against Calgary Flames when the Bunch of Jerks lit the lamp seven times for an easy Over.
The Under is 3-1 in the past four games for Carolina while going 15-4-1 in the past 20 games overall. And in this series, the Under has cashed in five consecutive skates at PNC Arena.
Bobrovsky (32-12-2, 2.30 GAA, .918 SV%, 4 SO) is confirmed in the crease for the Panthers, and he has been hard on the Hurricanes in recent seasons. Frederik Andersen (6-1-0, 2.49 GAA, .904 SV%) is projected to go for the home side, and he has given the Florida offense fits, too. Expect goals to be at a premium.
NHL Totals Bets for Panthers at Hurricanes
- Under 5.5 (+100 at Caesars)
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NHL Players Props for Panthers at Hurricanes
As far as the player props are concerned, we'll look at some possibilities outside of Anytime Goal Scorer, as we shouldn't see a lot of lamp-lighting in this battle in Raleigh.
Looking to the visitors, Niko Mikkola sacrifices his body frequently for the Panthers. The rearguard has 103 blocked shots across 66 games, and he had two last time out against Dallas. The 27-year-old Finn has blocked exactly two shots in three of his past four road games, and he had four blocks in that 1-0 loss in Carolina in late February.
- Niko Mikkola Over 1.5 Blocked Shots (-150 at BetMGM)
For the home side, Guentzel made his team debut Tuesday against the Rangers, but he was scoreless, like all of his other teammates, while taking just one shot on goal in 15:12 of ice time. Expect a lot more of a comfort level in his second game. He was averaging three shots on goal (SOG) in four March games before an injury, and he had 49 SOG in 11 games in January. He is plus-money to go over his shot total, and therefore a very nice value.
- Jake Guentzel Over 3.5 Shots On Goal (+135 at BetMGM)
