NHL Thursday best bets: Hurricanes to strike 1st vs. Panthers

The third round of the NHL playoffs kicks off Thursday night, with a couple of sunbelt teams set to square off in Carolina.

Let's get right to the best bets.

Panthers (+120) @ Hurricanes (-140)

The Hurricanes have been very impressive through the opening two rounds. Despite dealing with several key injuries, they own an 8-3 record and have been shockingly good at generating offense.

Among the 16 teams to qualify for the playoffs, only the Oilers managed to generate expected goals at a higher clip during five-on-five play. With the Oilers bounced, the Hurricanes are the best of the bunch.

That's remarkable considering they entered the playoffs without their two best goal-scorers and promptly lost Teuvo Teravainen to a healthy slash on the hands.

The good news for the Hurricanes is that reinforcements are on the way. Teravainen has recovered remarkably quickly and is expected to rejoin Carolina for its series opener against the Panthers.

He should provide the Hurricanes a nice jolt, giving them more talent to help convert on the abundance of chances they've managed to create without so many key pieces.

With the way Sergei Bobrovsky is playing right now, the Hurricanes need to continue generating chances in bulk - and they need players like Teravainen on the receiving end.

Luckily, that shouldn't be a problem. The Hurricanes have fared better at five-on-five during the playoffs and feasted on the Panthers in that aspect during the regular season, posting expected goal shares of 57%, 63%, and 65% over three head-to-head meetings.

The Jaccob Slavin-Brent Burns pairing - and Carolina's relentless forechecking - should not only help neutralize Florida's offense but also lead to some excellent counterattacking opportunities against Bobrovsky.

Sooner or later, he's going to come back down to earth. It could be soon considering the Hurricanes have had no trouble filling the net, scoring 3.54 goals per 60 minutes in these playoffs.

Look for them to break through the wall of Bobrovsky and claim a Game 1 victory.

Bet: Hurricanes (-140)

Aleksander Barkov over 2.5 shots (-110)

The Hurricanes aren't prone to breakdowns that allow opponents to generate Grade A opportunities off the rush. Opponents have to sustain pressure in the offensive zone and grind their way to the dirty areas to get shots on net. That's exactly what Barkov likes to do and likely plays a large part in his successful history against Carolina.

Barkov has registered at least three shots in eight of the last nine meetings against the Hurricanes. He fell only one short in the lone exception and missed the net twice, meaning the opportunity was there.

Barkov is routinely playing 22-plus minutes a night during these playoffs. Having sat on the sidelines resting for an extended period, he'll undoubtedly get a full workload. Look for him to take advantage.

Brent Burns over 3.5 shots (-110)

Of the teams to win a round, the Panthers are last in the Eastern Conference in shots allowed per game to opposing defensemen. That spells trouble when going up against a player like Burns.

He's teeing off on a nightly basis, particularly at home. Burns has recorded four shots or more in four of six home dates, averaging just under 10 attempts per game in that time.

He's playing 23-plus minutes per game and is as trigger-happy as any defenseman in the league. Without the goal-scoring threats of Andrei Svechnikov and Max Pacioretty, it's even more imperative that Burns contributes offensively. There's no reason to expect that volume to drop.

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.