The Winnipeg Jets will be looking to avoid their first three-game losing streak since March when they close out a three-game road trip in Tampa Bay on Saturday as +156 underdogs on the NHL odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Winnipeg recorded outright losses in Detroit and Florida as betting chalk earlier this week and is now winless in four straight road dates ahead of Saturday night’s Jets vs. Lightning betting matchup at Amalie Arena.
The Jets’ swoon comes on the heels of a 13-3-2 run that briefly lifted them to the top of the NHL standings, and has powered them to +1400 on the Stanley Cup odds. Winnipeg has built its steady climb on the strength of an impressive 10-2-1 home record, but has been outscored by an 18-7 margin during an 0-3-1 road slide.
While the Jets search for answers to their road woes, the Lightning aim for a fifth straight win on home ice on Saturday as -173 chalk.
Tampa Bay has made an impressive turnaround this season after missing the playoffs last spring for the first time in four years. The Lightning have been a fixture atop the NHL standings for most of the current campaign, and are set as +600 favourites to win their first Stanley Cup championship since 2004.
Tampa Bay has also earned the win in five of seven meetings with the Jets. However, both those losses came on home ice, including Winnipeg’s 6-4 win as a +127 bet last January.
Elsewhere on the NHL Saturday odds, the Edmonton Oilers open a three-game road trip in Montreal as +136 underdogs, while the Toronto Maple Leafs travel to Pittsburgh to face the Penguins as +113 underdogs.
The Oilers hit the road after dropping a 4-2 decision to the visiting Philadelphia Flyers as -130 favourites on Wednesday, and remain stalled in 14th place in the Western Conference standings with a 11-15-2 record. However, Edmonton has enjoyed some success in recent road dates, scoring 18 total goals while winning three of four, and has won five of six at the Bell Centre.
The Canadiens have fallen flat since handing the Red Wings a 10-1 beating as -172 home chalk last Saturday, dropping one-goal decisions to St. Louis and Calgary, and have scored two or fewer goals in six of 11 home dates.
Later on Saturday night, the Ottawa Senators try to end a three-game slide as they visit the San Jose Sharks as +149 underdogs, while the Flames vie for consecutive wins for the first time in three weeks as they take on the Vancouver Canucks as -162 home favourites.
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