Bruins Favored Over Panthers In Key Matchup With Playoff Implications
The Boston Bruins will gun for a third consecutive win when they take on the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night as the -160 moneyline favorites at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
The Bruins’ current win streak follows a stretch of six consecutive losses that briefly dropped them out of the second and final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference standings.
Following weekend victories over the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers, Boston enters Tuesday night’s Panthers vs. Bruins betting matchup at TD Garden holding a three-point lead on the Ottawa Senators in the race for the final playoff spot in the East. However, the Senators still have a game in hand.
The Bruins have been helped by the Senators’ recent struggles. Ottawa has lost three in a row, including blowing a two-goal third-period lead in a 4-3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night, ending a red-hot stretch of 15 wins in 17 games.
The Senators visit the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday as +125 moneyline underdogs on the NHL betting lines before returning home, where they will play three of their final six contests. Conversely, following Tuesday’s matchup with Florida, the Bruins will play four of their final five games on the road, where they have just 16 wins in 37 games this season.
Tuesday’s game also is critical for the Panthers, who will hit the ice just four points back of the Bruins in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Florida ends its five-game road trip in Boston and has struggled with consistency in recent weeks, but it still has compiled a respectable 9-6 record in its past 15 contests.
The Panthers will play their final five games at home, including one more meeting with the Bruins, who visit South Florida on the final weekend of the regular season.
The Bruins have split two games with Florida this season, picking up the win in the Panthers’ trip to TD Garden back in November and dropping a 2-1 decision in a visit to Florida earlier this month.
However, Boston has dominated the matchup in recent years, going 9-1 in its last 10 overall meetings with Florida, according to the OddsShark NHL Database, and a perfect 7-0 in its last seven home dates against the Panthers.
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
