NHL Odds: Bruins Pegged As Road Favorites In Matchup With Panthers

The Boston Bruins will be looking to halt a three-game road losing streak as they wrap up their regular-season road schedule on Thursday against the Florida Panthers as -125 favorites on the NHL odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.

The Bruins blew an opportunity to extend their lead atop the Eastern Conference standings with Tuesday’s 4-0 loss in Tampa Bay as a +100 wager, and now sit deadlocked with the Lightning in the race for first place going into Thursday night’s Bruins vs. Panthers betting matchup at BB&T Center.

After owning one of the NHL’s best road records for most the season, the Bruins have stumbled in contests away from TD Garden in recent weeks, falling to defeat in eight of their past 12 road games. However, they has managed to regularly collect points during its recent bout of inconsistency, which has seen it go 5-1-4 in its past 10 overall.

That run has been good enough to lift the Bruins into a tie with Tampa Bay with 110 points, with one game in hand on the Lightning and three contests remaining on their schedule. The Bruins’ slate this week features a pair of matchups with the Panthers, along with a Saturday night date with the slumping Ottawa Senators at TD Garden.

Boston has dominated the Panthers in recent years, picking up the win in six of seven meetings including a crushing 5-1 victory as -170 home chalk on March 31. However, Florida enters Thursday’s action riding a three-game win streak on home ice, and is desperate for a victory to keep its dwindling playoff hopes alive.

The Panthers also impressed in their last home date with Boston, shutting out the Bruins 3-0 as -101 underdogs on March 15, and have surrendered just nine total goals over their past five home dates, according to the OddsShark NHL Database.

While the Bruins look to maintain control of their own playoff positioning with a win in Florida, the Lightning await a visit from the Buffalo Sabres on Friday before closing out their schedule in Carolina on Saturday.

Inconsistency has also plagued the Lightning, who have gone 2-4-0 over their past six outings. Tampa Bay’s offense tallied just five total goals over their four recent losses, and they have been held to three or fewer goals in six of 10 overall, but have maintained resiliency at the sportsbooks, trailing only Nashville as a +575 bet on the Stanley Cup odds.